Collide
by PuckleberryShipper326
Summary: After a party at the end of their freshman year, Rachel Berry suddenly disappeared. Now she's back and has caught the attention of Puck. Rachel's hiding something that will change his life forever, but will she ever tell? AU before Season 1
1. She's Back

**_So this is a story I thought up and I plan on dedicating most of my time to once Baby, You're Not Alone is finally over. It's not incredibly long but I hope it's interesting enough that you guys will want to read it. It is definitely AU set when the third season would be, but it does contain some important plot points from seasons one and two. Puck and Quinn never had a baby, Rachel and Finn never had any semblance of a relationship, Matt never disappeared, and Sam and Quinn have been dating since junior year._**

**_DISCLAIMER: All characters (except Caleb) belong to Ryan Murphy and the other phenomenal writers of Glee. I only own the plot and my love for Mark Salling and Darren Criss._**

**_Enjoy!_**

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><p><strong><strong>Senior year was finally upon them, and Puck was proudly on top. He was the resident bad boy, infamous sex shark, and a member of the football team and glee club, both of which were fresh from championship wins. He was looking at a free ride to Ohio State on a football scholarship and all he had to do was keep his GPA high enough and kick some ass on the field. Walking through the doors of William McKinley High School on the first day back, he met up with Finn and they took to the halls. He and Finn had gone through a little rough patch sophomore year (_having drunken sex with your best friend's girlfriend tends to put a damper on the friendship_) but they had worked it all out and were finally on good terms again. The pair were single now (_Quinn was dating their team mate Sam_) and absolutely loving it, ready to go through their last year with zero drama. After shooting some flirtatious winks to some cute freshmen, Puck turned the corner to find the one girl he thought he'd never see again.

No one really knew what had happened to Rachel Berry after freshman year. She was kind of a loser throughout middle school and became a constant point of ridicule her first year of high school. At the end of the year, she attended a party at Matt Rutherford's house and disappeared shortly after that. Puck will admit he had hit on Rachel that night. She had looked smoking hot in that black corset dress and he cared very much about maintaining his perfect record among the ladies of McKinley. Unfortunately, he got totally wasted and blacked out, waking up butt naked in an empty bed in Matt's brother's room.

Seeing Rachel after two years caused Puck to stop dead in his tracks. Finn looked back, confused, before following his friend's eye line until they met the girl in question.

"Is that..?" he asked, not willing to say her name.

The petite brunette was standing at her locker, sporting a pair of dark wash jeans and a red blouse that hung loosely from her body. When she began to feel someone staring at her, she turned to see pairs of moss and chocolate eyes bearing down on her. A deep blush rushed to her cheeks when she recognized the Mohawked boy and Frankenteen. She quickly shuffled the rest of her books into her bag and scurried past them into the girl's restroom.

"What the fuck just happened?" Puck wondered aloud. Finn shrugged in his usual clueless fashion and continued down the hall before entering his Spanish class. The boy still in the hall stared at the spot Rachel had just stood in before shaking himself and walking to the nurse's office for his morning nap during math.

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><p>Two years. A lot can happen in two years. Two years ago, Rachel went to her first high school party. She wore a dress her aunt had given her for her birthday but she had thought was inappropriate for school. Two years ago, Rachel drank her first sip alcohol. It was a wine cooler and if she remembers correctly, it tasted like pink. Two years ago, Rachel got drunk for the first time. It only took three wine coolers and the fuzzy feeling before planking out was surprisingly pleasant. Two years ago, Rachel lost her virginity to a random stranger in an act of drunken and unprotected sex. All she remembers is bits and pieces of the act and then waking up naked and sore next to her lover. Two years ago, Rachel found out she was pregnant. Her fathers decided to send her away to live with her aunt during the course of her pregnancy and the first year of her son's life. Caleb Josiah was born on March 26, 2010, changing Rachel's life forever. At first she had debated putting her unborn child up for adoption, but after seeing her son's olive skin and chestnut curls, she knew she couldn't. While she sometimes reflected on that decision made two years ago, Rachel realized that the joy of being Caleb's mother that she felt everyday was worth all the trouble.<p>

When her fathers had offered to let her return to her childhood home with her son over the summer, Rachel had sat in her room for a solid three hours composing a pro and con list. For pro, Rachel put many varied answers, such as a chance to see her old friends again and being able to raise her son in the town she herself grew up in. The sole con she had written was facing Caleb's father again. Although the boy hadn't the slightest clue that he had fathered a child, Rachel did. She knew his identity and was aware of how difficult it would be to see him again. At the end of the three hours, Rachel looked at her son making his usual baby noises. She looked into Caleb's sparkling green eyes and knew she had to return to Lima, Ohio.

Sitting in the girl's bathroom, with her head in a toilet, Rachel was awoken to the reality of the situation in front of her. She thought she could have been strong enough to face him again, but just the sight of those familiar green eyes brought a rush of two years worth of memories to her. Rachel was lucky enough to have made it to the bathroom before being overcome by her nausea. Would she be able to endure a year knowing that Noah Puckerman would be wandering the halls? Could live with the constant reminder of that night two years ago? Would anyone find out about her one-year old son? If they did, would she ever be able to tell him the truth about Caleb? Looking in the smeared mirror, Rachel saw that scared little girl she used to be. The girl she was before she lost her virginity to a boy with a Mohawk and gave birth to his son. The girl who didn't know if she could make it. With a splash of cold water onto her face, Rachel buried that girl deep down within herself and exited the bathroom.

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><p><strong><em>I hope you guys liked it. <span>If I get ten reviews, I will sit down and write you guys a chapter!<span> Also, be sure to go read my other stories! I love you all!_**


	2. All By Myself

**_I am blown away by the response this story has gotten. In less than a day, I've gotten fifteen reviews. That's amazing guys, thank you so much :) A special thanks to puckleberry-marksalling-xx for being the first reviewer. _****_As promised, here's the next chapter._**

**_DISCLAIMBER: All characters (except Caleb) belong to Ryan Murphy and all the other wonderful writers of Glee. The song "All By Myself" also belongs to Celine Dion. I only own the plot._**

**_Enjoy!_**

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><p><strong><strong>Lunch finally rolled around and Rachel was faced with her usual problem: where to sit. She went through the lunch line easily, grabbing a garden salad and a water, and looked out at the room.

"Rachel?" She turned around to find a smiling Kurt Hummel. "Oh, Rachel it is you." He quickly swept her into a hug. "We've missed you so much."

Rachel smiled fondly. While she was quite an outcast at McKinley her first year, she did find solace in the glee club. The group of mismatched songbirds had been one of the biggest reasons she had wanted to return to Lima.

"How have you been diva? What have you been up to?" Kurt wondered as he led her to a table.

"I've been fine," she lied. "Just going through life as usual." Although she knew she could probably trust Kurt and the rest of the glee club with her secret, she thought it best not to unload all her baggage on the first day.

"That's wonderful," he smiled. They reached a table and placed their food down. "Rachel, I believe you know most of the Glee club."

Rachel looked around at the people at the table. She smiled at Tina who she was surprised to see with Mike Chang's arm around her. Mike wasn't a member of glee when she had left, but she remembered him from the party. Matt Rutherford sat beside him, his arm around Mercedes, who waved happily to her. Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce sat holding hands next to the curly haired boy Kurt was seated next to. It seems the glee club had earned a few more members since she left two years ago. Her eyes widened slightly to see Quinn Fabray seated at the table, her hand latched onto a blonde, big-mouthed boy. Her greatest surprise, however, was the sight of Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman sitting at the table. Rachel's stomach dropped so hard, she almost looked down to see if it was on the floor.

"Long time, no see, Berry," Puck said. "How ya been?"

She gulped before murmuring a soft, "fine."

Kurt scrunched his eyebrows at the exchange before shaking it off. "Rachel, I think you might know most of the gang. Tina and Mike, also known as Asian fusion." Rachel smiled as the two Asians shared a chaste kiss. "Mercedes and Matt, our soul couple." She chuckled and nodded at the pair. "Santana and Brittany, the lesbian Cheerios." Santana glared slightly at Kurt before smiling when Brittany kissed her cheek. "This is Blaine Anderson. He's a transfer student from Dalton this year, but I've been dating him since regionals last year." Rachel smiled when Blaine took Kurt's hand in his. She was glad her friend had finally found love. "Quinn's little hunk of arm candy is Sam Evans. He transferred last year and they have been inseparable ever since." The trouty mouth boy shook Rachel's hand before taking Quinn's back in his. "And finally, Finn and Puck, the quarterback and the sex shark." Puck winked at Rachel, causing her stomach to clench and her head to lower as she blushed. "Everyone but Sam and Blaine joined sophomore year. Last year we had Lauren Zizes on the team, but she dropped out after she was offered a position on an international wrestling organization. Blaine gladly took her place."

Rachel looked around at the group in front of her, avoiding a certain Mohawked boy. They quickly all returned to their conversations until about ten minutes to the end of lunch. Rachel was in the middle of chewing a tomato when Kurt looked up at her again.

"Rachel, you should join glee again!" he offered with a bright smile and enthusiastic eyes. "We could really use your voice."

"I don't know Kurt," she mumbled. "I haven't sung in two years."

"Once a singer, always a singer," Mercedes stated. "That's what you told me when you convinced me to join freshman year. You knew me from a fifth grade production of _Beauty and Beast_ and knew I still had it in me. From what I remember of your singing, there's no way you lost that talent."

Twelve sets of eyes were on her, awaiting her decision. "I- I guess I could join."

They all smiled. "Great!" Kurt said. "Come to the choir room after school so you can audition." Before Rachel could object, the bell rang and everyone shoved off for their next class. She slowly rose from her seat and headed towards her French class.

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><p>After school, Rachel went to her locker to empty her books and retrieve anything she'd need for homework. As she was placing her Calculus workbook into her bag, a shadow enveloped her. She turned around to see Puck standing behind her with his hands in his pockets, a small smile on his face.<p>

"Hey," he said, the smile growing a little bit. "Wanna walk to glee together?"

"Uh, sure." She finished putting her stuff away and closed her locker, letting him lead the way.

"So, um, where did you go?" he asked, his eyes on the ground. She looked up at him confused. "I mean, like, you've been gone for two years and all. Where did you disappear to?"

"I, uh, I was living with my aunt," she answered. "Family troubles." While she was technically not lying, it was the easiest way to get around why she actually left.

Puck nodded, his eyes still on the ground. When they finally reached the choir room, Rachel left him at the doorway to sit next to Kurt and Blaine.

_Something's not right here,_ he thought to himself. _She's hiding something… but what?_

"Hey guys, welcome back to the new year," Mr. Shuester greeted as he walked in the door. He looked up and his eyes were drawn to the brunette sitting in the back row. "Well, I guess the rumors are true," he stated with a smile. "Rachel, welcome back to McKinley." The class applauded, smiling at Rachel.

"Thank you Mr. Shuester, it's great to be back."

"I assume you're here to audition?"

She nodded, heading towards the front of the room. Mr. Shuester bowed his head and took a seat off to the side. "Um, I'll be singing '_All By Myself_' by Celine Dion." She nodded to Brad, the piano player, who began to play the first few notes. Her eyes stayed closed for the first few lines, before opening and looking sadly at her friends.

_When I was young,_

_I never needed anyone,_

_And making love was just for fun._

_Those days are gone._

Her eyes scanned the room, a sad smile on her lips. She tried to ignore the green eyes seeing straight through her.

_Living alone,_

_I think of all the friends I've known._

_When I dial the telephone,_

_Nobody's home._

She was putting her whole soul into the song, expressing every emotion she's felt over the past two years.

_All by myself._

_Don't wanna be_

_All by myself,_

_Anymore._

When she sang the next verse, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes looking down again.

_Hard to be sure,_

_Sometimes I feel so insecure,_

_And love so distant and obscure_

_Remains the cure._

She clutched at her heart as she sang the chorus, the last line coming out in a whisper as her hands fell and she shrugged.

_All by myself._

_Don't wanna be_

_All by myself,_

_Anymore._

_All by myself._

_Don't wanna live_

_All by myself,_

_Anymore._

When she repeated the chorus, she found her eyes pleading with the Mohawked boy in the first row, her eyes closing from the pain as she sang the power note.

_All by myself._

_Don't wanna be_

_All by myself,_

_Anymore._

_All by myself._

_Don't wanna live,_

_Oh._

Tears began to flow slowly from her eyes as she finished the song.

_Don't wanna live,_

_By myself, by myself,_

_Anymore._

_By myself,_

_Anymore._

_Oh,_

_All by myself._

_Don't wanna live,_

_And never, never, never_

_Needed anyone._

The entire room erupted in applause as Rachel wiped away her tears and tried to regulate her breathing. Mr. Shuester rose and walked over to hug Rachel to his side.

"I think it's safe to say, welcome back Rachel," he squeezed her arm, smiling down at her.

She smiled softly, a fake smile, while her friends walked up and hugged her. A vibration from her pocket caught her attention. She pulled out her phone to see that it was 3:10 and Caleb's day care was calling.

"Crap," she whispered. "Um, I have to go." She quickly grabbed her bag and ran out of the room. The rest of New Directions watched confusedly, not noticing the green-eyed jock sneak out the back door to follow her.

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><p><strong><em>I hope you all liked it. Thanks for reading. <span>If I get fifteen reviews, I will sit down and write another chapter.<span> Keep it up guys! I love you all!_**


	3. Secrets Never Last

**_Wow you guys are fast at reviewing. I guess I'll have to increase the amount request :) I'm not going to say much, but I have a little longer A/N at the end of this chapter, so please go read that!_**

**_DISCLAIMER: All the characters (except Caleb) belong to Ryan Murphy and the fantastic writers of Glee. I only own the plot._**

**_Enjoy!_**

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><p>Puck knew something was up when she auditioned with something other than Barbra. He might not have known her very well, but one thing he knew for sure was that Barbra was her go-to for auditions, that and anything from <em>Les Mis<em>. Then she was making all this crazy eye contact with him and started crying in the middle of the song. And then, she leaves in the middle of all that praise? Yeah, you could say Puck was certainly suspicious of Rachel's behavior.

He saw her run to her car and decided to follow her. He jumped in his truck and kept enough of a distance between them so she wouldn't notice. It seemed like she was driving home, until she took a turn down a completely different street. Puck scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, but he continued to follow her. After a few more minutes, Rachel parked in front of a Day Care facility. Puck decided to drive past and park a few yards away. He sat in his car, waiting, until Rachel finally came back outside, a baby boy in her arms. She smiled down at the boy with nothing but love and the boy clapped his hands. Grabbing a baby seat that was hidden in the trunk, Rachel fastened the child in the back seat, climbed back behind the wheel, and drove away. Since Puck was sure Rachel was an only child, he continued to follow her.

After driving for another fifteen minutes, Rachel stopped at a playground. Puck parked close by and started to follow her over to the swings. She was just putting the child in one of the baby swings when Puck put his hand on her shoulder.

"Noah," she gasped, her face paling. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he retorted. "Who is that Rachel?" He looked over her shoulder to the little boy that was playing with his feet.

"Um, this is Caleb," she replied, her eyes grazing over the curious child.

"And who is he, exactly?" he pushed, his eyes bouncing from the baby and the girl in front of him.

"He's-" she started, but paused when Caleb looked up at Puck. Green eyes met green eyes, and a smile crept to Caleb's round face. "He's my son."

Puck's head whipped to see tears rolling down her cheeks. "Your son?" She nodded. "Where'd he come from?" Rachel looked at him as if he just asked the stupidest question in the world, which he sort of had. "I just mean, he looks like he's, what? One?" She nodded again. "Which means you had to have gotten pregnant like two years ago. You didn't have a boyfriend two years ago." Rachel nodded, more tears falling. "Oh my god Rachel, were you raped?" She shook her head. "Then how did this happen?"

"I got drunk that night," she began to explain. "At Matt's party, I mean. I-I don't remember much, just bits and pieces. I w-woke up the next morning and connected the dots. When I found out I was p-pregnant, my dads sent me to stay with my aunt. That's where I was the past two years."

"Do you know who the father is?" he asked, thinking to himself whoever he is is looking at getting his ass kicked. She nodded, practically weeping now. He put his hand reassuringly on her arm. "Rachel, who is he?" Rachel looked up at him, not saying anything, just letting the tears flow. After a few moments, Puck's jaw dropped, the realization hitting him. "He- He can't be mine," he stammered. "We didn't…?" Then the memories began to come back. A brunette moaning below him, waking up to an empty bed. "Oh my god. Caleb's my son?"

Rachel collapsed against the swing post, bawling into her hands. She didn't want him to find out, especially not like this. She looked at her son, who looked back at her with a confused look. Then she glanced up at the boy whose life was just changed, only to find angry eyes staring back at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Puck demanded. "I've had a son for the past two years and instead of telling me, you run away? I could have helped you Rachel, but you didn't even give me a chance."

"Noah, please. I-"

"No! You have no excuses." He shook his head, fighting the tears that were threatening to be shed. "My father left me when I was seven years old. I promised myself I would never be like him, and you forced me to break that promise. What if I hadn't followed you here? Would you have told me? Or would you have just let my son grow up without a father?" He rubbed his hands over his scalp and stormed away, letting out a grunt of frustration and ignoring Rachel's pleas. He practically ran to his truck, immediately jumping in and finally letting go. Heavy sobs rocked his core. _How could she have not told him?_

When he finally calmed down, he looked back into the park to see that Rachel and Caleb were gone. He took a deep breath and turned his truck on, pulling away from the spot and heading back home. One thing was for sure, he was not done talking to Rachel.

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><p>He had followed her. Rachel thought she would have been able to keep Caleb a secret for at least a few months, but no. Noah Puckerman had to ruin all that by following her. Now, she backtracked those three hours of thinking, questioning whether seeing all of her friends again was worth having to deal with the drama she was surely bound to face tomorrow in school. Once he had left, and she had composed herself, she snatched Caleb out of the swing and rushed back to the car. She had to be home, where she felt safe.<p>

When she had finally reached her house, she walked briskly inside, placing her keys and bag by the door and taking Caleb to his room. He usually rests for an hour or so after they get home and before dinner. She set him in his crib and turned on the baby monitor, placing a soft kiss on his forehead before exiting the room. With her phone in hand, she entered her room and pressed the green button, her phone ringing in her ear.

"Hello?"

"Kurt," she sighed. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What's up diva, you sound distraught," he worried, eliciting a small smile from Rachel.

"Do you think you could come over? What I have to tell you is really complicated and it would be best if you heard it in person."

The boy on the other line paused for a moment, making Rachel worry he'd reject her request. "I'll be there in five minutes," he said before hanging up.

_Well, _Rachel thought, _here goes nothing._

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><p><strong><em>Okay, so first, I want to ask if you guys think I'm rushing this story at all. I honestly don't think this will be as long as <span>Baby, You're Not Alone<span> but it will still be a good story. Puck and Rachel clearly still have a lot they have to face and I just need to brainstorm any other obstacles and conflicts that they could encounter. If you have any ideas, leave it in a review or shoot me a PM. I answer any PM's my readers send me, so don't be shy._**

**_Next, I hope all of you are reading my other two babies, Baby, You're Not Alone and Dress and Tie. BYNA will be ending in a couple chapters, leaving DAT and Collide for my attention._**

**_Finally, if I get 25 reviews, I will sit down and write a new chapter. It's becoming harder and harder to write because you guys are reviewing so fast (not that I'm complaining)._**

**_That's all I really have to say. Be sure to add me on Twitter [iStarKid14]. I love you all!_**


	4. I Got Your Back

**_Thanks for all the reviews guys. I'm so surprised I got them all so fast. Congratulations to puckleberryisendgame for being the 50th reviewer! Please send me a prompt for the one-shot you want (you can either leave it as a review, since you don't have an account, or make an account and PM me, which will be better so I can ask you questions if I'm confused with the prompt). If I don't get a response by you in a week, I will be sending a PM to whoever is the next reviewer that has an account. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!_**

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><p><strong><strong>Kurt sat on her bed just staring at her, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide. She had just unloaded everything that had happened since that party two years ago to this afternoon in the park. While she had expected him to be shocked, Rachel didn't think Kurt would stay silent for so long.

"Kurt, please say something," she begged, wiping the rest of her tears away.

"So, let me reiterate, just to make sure there's no confusion," he said. He took a deep breath before continuing. "You had unprotected sex with Puck when you were both drunk at Matt's party after freshman year. Then you got pregnant and went to live with your aunt, deciding not to tell Puck. After giving birth and raising your son, Caleb, you moved back in with your dads. Today, when you left glee club, you went to pick up Caleb from day care and went to the park. Puck followed you and when he asked you about Caleb, you told him the truth. He became infuriated that you never told him and stormed off and now you're confiding in me so that I will have you back. Does that sound about right?" Rachel nodded slowly. "All right then."

Confusion crept to her face. "All right? You mean you'll support me?"

He held her hands. "Rachel, you've been through a lot and you made decisions you felt were right," he comforted. "Puck needs to stop being so self-centered and realize what a bind you were in. Plus, when he asked, you told him the truth about Caleb."

"I guess you're right," Rachel muttered, her eyes focusing on her fiddling hands. "I just feel bad. You didn't see the look he had when he realized. He looked utterly heartbroken."

"He'll come around," Kurt assured. "He just needs to wrap his mind around the whole thing. If what you said is true, he wants to be there for his son. He may be a year late or whatever, but he won't try and pretend Caleb doesn't exist."

Rachel nodded. "What do I do when people find out? I'm afraid they'll think of me differently and treat me poorly."

"People will probably find out at some point," he stated honestly. "It's kind of inevitable. But you have me and, if you want to tell them, the entire glee club. We're a family. We always stick together and, like it or not, you're a part of that family now."

She smiled, tears prickling her eyes again. "Thank you Kurt," she whispered as he pulled her in for a hug. "You have no idea how much of a relief it is to know you're on my side."

"Hey." Kurt pulled away and looked directly at her. "Don't sweat it okay? I'm sure if you explain the whole situation to glee, they'll understand too."

"I think I'll do it tomorrow, but I'll need your help," she sighed. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right and it would be so much easier if Puck wasn't there."

Kurt smiled. "I'll send a distraction for him. What's your plan?"

At that moment, Caleb's soft voice emanated from the baby monitor. Rachel stood and walked to the door. "You'll see tomorrow. Just make sure everyone except Puck is in the choir room at three-fifteen." With that, she left the room to care for her newly awoken child.

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><p>It wasn't too difficult to make sure Puck wasn't anywhere near the choir room at three-fifteen. He had gotten into a fight between second and third periods, so he had detention until four. The Mohawked boy hadn't talked all day, and the fight seemed to have come out of nowhere. It was almost as if he merely needed to release pent up frustration and decided to do so on Karofsky's face (<em>not that Kurt was complaining; although he'd made some changes since creating the Bully Whips, he could still be an ass<em>). Kurt was sitting in the choir room, ignoring the conversations around him, staring at the clock on the wall.

Right at three-fifteen, the door to the choir room. All eyes locked on to Rachel, who was carrying Caleb on her hip. Kurt smiled from his seat and nodded, realizing what plan Rachel had.

"Hey guys," Rachel greeted, a soft smile on her lips. "Thanks for coming."

"Why are we here exactly?" Tina asked, expressing the confusion palpable in the room. "And why are you carrying a baby?"

"Um, this is Caleb," she said, brushing back the boy's hair, "my son."

Everyone's eyes, but Kurt's, widened. From the back corner, Brittany's eye brows were scrunched in confusion. "I thought the sun was the big planet that controlled the Earth's light switch?"

"S-O-N Britt, not S-U-N," Santana explained. "Just like Finn is Mrs. Hudson's son, Caleb is, I guess, Rachel's." The blonde cheerio's mouth formed a small _O_ and she nodded.

"Rachel, is this why you left after freshman year?" Artie asked.

"Yeah," she nodded in confirmation. "My fathers sent me to live with my aunt for the pregnancy. They wanted me to be around a woman who knew how to handle the ups and downs of pregnancy, as well as child birth."

"How did this happen?" Mercedes wondered. "From what I remember, you were kind of a prude freshman year." She blushed. "No offense."

"Um, it happened at Matt's party," Rachel answered, her eyes down. "I got drunk and didn't know what I was doing."

"Oh my god Rachel, were you raped?" Quinn asked, her hand over her heart.

"No," she assured. "I remember bits and pieces, and I would have remembered if I didn't want it." A deep blush flushed her cheeks. "Anyways, I woke up the next morning naked and in bed with-" she stopped and gulped.

"Rachel, who was it?" Matt asked, sounding surprisingly angry.

She looked down at Caleb, staring at the green eyes her son shared with his father. Although the boy was a baby, somewhere in his eyes Rachel saw a plea to tell the truth.

"Puck," she finally admitted. "Puck is Caleb's father." As if the teens in front of her weren't shocked enough as it was, this piece of information caused them all to resemble fish. "I was scared when I found out. I knew Puck's reputation as a heartbreaker and I couldn't face him. I was afraid if he found out he'd just tear me down further more where I already was. I thought I'd never have to tell him, that I could just keep the secret to myself and raise Caleb on my own. I knew I would have to tell him when my fathers offered for me to return home. I knew I wouldn't be able to see Puck everyday knowing he was unaware of Caleb. I thought I would have a bit more time, but Puck followed me to the park where I took Caleb yesterday after picking him up from day care. He asked me and I told him the truth. He stormed off and I haven't seen him since."

A long pause engulfed the room. Finally, Kurt stood up from his seat next to Blaine and walked over to Rachel. "Guys, I know this is a lot to take in, but Rachel needs us to be there for her. We all know that secrets don't last here, and the last thing she needs is to be alone when people find out about Caleb. This obviously doesn't mean that all of us are taking Rachel's side over Puck's, since some of us," he stared at Finn, "won't be doing that. But we need to back Rachel _and_ Puck up when the truth comes out."

"I got your back Berry," Santana said from her seat. "Puck's cool and all, but if I were in your place, I'd do the same. He needs to stop being a little bitch and get the fuck over it."

Rachel smiled softly, deciding not to scold the Latina on her language. "Thanks Santana."

"Can I hold your baby, Rachel?" Brittany asked, her eyes locked on the small boy in the songstress's arms. Rachel nodded and walked over, gently placing Caleb in the blonde's lap. Brittany held Caleb securely, looking down at him. Caleb smiled and grabbed at the blonde locks, tugging on them lightly. Brittany giggled and kissed the olive-skinned child's forehead. "I bet Puck would make a good daddy. You should let him, you know?" She smiled up at Rachel, pure innocence on her face.

"Sure, Britt," Rachel responded, smiling softly and taking Caleb from her hands. "If he wants to, I'll let him."

"Will you really?" a voice said from the doorway. "Or will you just run away like you did before?" Rachel's head whipped around, her heart plummeting when her eyes locked onto Puck's angry green ones.

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><p><strong><em>Sorry for the cliffhanger (please don't hate me). Hopefully this will encourage you to review, because <span>if I get twenty-five reviews, I will sit down and write the next chapter<span>._**

**_Be sure to add me on Tumblr (puckleberryshipper326 . tumblr . com [take out all the spaces]) and Twitter (iStarKid14) as well as check out my other stories. I still need two reviews on Baby, You're Not Alone._**

**_Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I love you all!_**


	5. He's Got My Eyes

**_Wow you guys are amazingly fast. A quick congrats to LISA1231 for being the 100th reviewer. I got a review saying they hated that I asked for reviews, but I do it so you guys can control when the next chapter comes out. For Baby, You're Not Alone, I started off just posting when I had a chapter written, but I didn't get much of a response. Am I the only one that thinks it's only fair that I request a certain amount of reviews for the work I put into my stories? If you guys think I'm being unreasonable, I'll stop asking and just post whenever. It's just, this way, if I reach my review limit, I force myself to sit down and write until I can post a new chapter for you guys. Tell me what you guys think. Your thoughts impact my writing, so don't be shy._**

**_Anyways, enough of my blabbering. Enjoy!_**

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><p><strong><strong>"Um, we'll leave you two to talk," Kurt decided, nodding for the rest of the club to follow him. "Rachel, do you want me to take Caleb for a bit? Blaine and I will watch him."

"That would be great Kurt," she whispered, her eyes still on Puck. She kissing Caleb's forehead and laid him in the countertenor's arms. The couple and child swiftly left, leaving Rachel and Puck alone. After it seemed like the latter wasn't going to speak, the brunette began to speak. "Look-"

"Why did you leave?" he interrupted. He jammed his hands into his pockets and looked down. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I was scared, Noah," she admitted. "I was afraid if I did tell you, you would laugh and degrade me, call me a liar, spread horrible rumors about me."

His eyes lifted to meet hers, sadness clear in each soft green orb. "Do you really think that low of me?" Rachel gulped. "I would have helped you Rachel. I wanted to help you. I still do. I want to be in my son's life. I don't want to be my dad."

She lowered her head in embarrassment. "I guess I was just too stubborn and thought I could do it on my own. I thought it would be better for the both of us if I just didn't tell you and disappeared."

"So you would have just kept my son away from me?" he questioned angrily. "He's my son, Rachel!"

"He's my son too!" she screamed back. She tried to calm down, but tears rushed past the surface and rolled down her cheeks. "I did what I thought was the best thing and I fucked up okay? I should have told you and talked to you before I made any decisions and I'm sorry!"

The pair stared at each other, both attempting to regulate their breathing. Rachel wiped away her tears. "So what do we do now?" Puck asked, his eyes back on the floor.

"Well, for starters, would you like to meet your son?" Puck's eyes snapped up to hers.

"Seriously?" he questioned as she headed for the door. She smiled back at him and opened the door, calling out for Kurt. A few moments later, she returned with Caleb in her arms.

"Noah, meet Caleb," she whispered, brushing back the baby's curly, dark brown hair. She handed him over to Puck, who held him hesitantly but securely nonetheless.

"Hi Caleb, I'm your daddy," Puck whispered, rubbing the baby boy's back in slow circles. Caleb looked up at Puck with big eyes. Tears fought to surface in the teen's eyes when he looked into his own eyes. "He's got my eyes."

"He has your hair too," she replied, tears also welling up in her eyes. "I now understand why you keep it so short. The curls are unruly." They both laughed lightly.

"He's got your nose though," Puck smiled. He looked up at Rachel, whose eyes were welling up. "I always loved that about you. Most of the girls from our temple got rid of theirs after they turned sixteen, but I see you kept yours. It's cute." Rachel blushed and looked down at her son. "Do your dads know that I'm Caleb's dad?" Rachel nodded. "That explains why they've been acting so nice to me." His grin turned into a slight frown. "How am I supposed to tell Ma?" he wondered aloud.

"I can come with you," Rachel offered. "I'll bring Caleb too. Nobody can deny him. Trust me." She giggled.

Puck smiled at her. "You'd do that?" She nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Thanks." Rachel walked over and rubbed Caleb's back. He stretched his arms to her and she gently took him from Puck. Puck looked on with admiration. "You're a lot different than you were two years ago."

"You mean I'm not a freak anymore?" she attempted to clarify with a sad tone.

"Well sort of, but it's something more," he explained. "It's like you know who you are now and aren't trying to force it upon the rest of the world. You seem more laid-back and comfortable with yourself."

"I guess when Caleb was born, my attention shifted from making myself known to making sure he was okay. He's my whole world," she smiled. The pair stood there, looking at the baby boy between them, allowing a comfortable silence to settle. "The glee club is supporting us, by the way. While I may have changed, I have a feeling the rest of the school hasn't, and it won't be long before they all find out about Caleb."

"Fuck 'em," he replied crudely. Rachel glared at him, her eyes flipping to Caleb quickly to send the message. "Sorry," he apologized. "Seriously though, who cares what the rest of those di- jerk wads think?" Rachel smiled at the quick recovery. "People talk all the time. Just ignore them."

"So you'll still stick by us when people find out?" she asked, once again unsure and embarrassed of her vulnerability. She'd had many friends from when she lived with her aunt that said they'd be there for her and bailed the minute times got rough.

"It'll suck, obviously, but I'm not going to leave you. You raised my son for a whole year by yourself. I'm not letting either of you go ever again, which means don't even think about running away again."

"I won't," she promised. "Um, I just want you to know that I'm not trying to trap you in a relationship either. We'll be friends who just so happen to be raising a child together okay? You can keep seeing whoever you want."

Puck chuckled. "Thanks, I guess. Same goes to you. Just 'cause you're my baby mama, doesn't mean you can't see other dudes. If you want to date someone, I can watch the little munchkin."

She smiled and giggled in return. "Yeah, tons of guys are jumping at the chance to date the girl with the baby."

"Well, you can if that ever does happen," he returned with a chuckle. "And give us guys of McKinley the benefit of the doubt. You never know. Mr. Perfect might be out there." He smiled at her.

"Thank you Noah," she smiled back. He nodded in return and grabbed her bag, leading her out of the choir room and into the hall.

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><p><strong><em>Another quick thank you for the amount of hits on this story. I've already gotten 5,000, which is amazing considering how new it is. Thank you guys so much :) <span>If I get thirty reviews, I will sit down and write you all another chapter!<span> Go read my other stories! Baby, You're Not Alone is almost over and Dress and Tie should have a new chapter up by tonight! Thanks again! I love you all!_**


	6. Smile

**_I'm absolutely blown away with the amount of reviews this story is getting. Luckily I wrote this chapter today or else I would have been in serious trouble. Thanks so much for reviewing! Enjoy!_**

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><p><strong><strong>Things had been going rather well for Rachel since she and Puck had that conversation in the choir room. So far, nobody knew about Caleb and she had grown very close to everyone in New Directions. She'd been given a few lead parts in some of the songs, which she found to be quite fun. Her friendships with Kurt and Santana had grown significantly, the two very different people being her closest friends. Well, other than Puck. She and Puck had a very unique relationship. He protects her and plays around with her, the connection between them being something similar to a sister-brother relationship. Somehow though, there was something a little deeper than that, something neither of them would discuss with anyone. Puck still hooked up with random girls in and out of school, but he always made time for his son. They still hadn't told his mother, but that's something they've talked about a lot.

Rachel was sitting in her room, feeding Caleb his bottle when her phone rang. She held and fed Caleb with one hand while grabbing her phone with the other. She smiled when she saw the caller id flashing Kurt's name.

"Hey Kurt," she answered into the receiver.

"Hey diva, what are you up to tonight?" he asked on the other end.

"Nothing, why?"

"Well Blaine and I are going out to Breadstix with a few of our friends from Dalton and we were wondering if you wanted to join?"

"I don't know Kurt," she hesitated. "My dad's are out on a date and I have no one to watch over Caleb."

"Call Puck," he offered. "I'm sure he'd love for the chance to spend some quality time with his son."

She sighed. "I don't know. He hasn't spent a lot of alone time with him and-"

"And nothing," Kurt interrupted. "He practically raised his little sister Sarah. He'll be fine watching Caleb for one night."

Rachel thought about it for a few moments. It would be good for Puck to spend some alone time with Caleb, and she hadn't had a night to herself in a long time. "All right, Kurt. I'll call you and meet you there."

"Yes! Okay, see you there Rach."

They both hung up and Rachel quickly dialed Puck's number. After the second ring, she heard his voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey Noah, it's Rachel."

"What's up? Is everything okay?"

She giggled softly. "Yeah, everything is fine. Um, I was just wondering if you could watch Caleb tonight." She fiddled with the hem of her sundress as she awaited his answer.

"Yeah of course," he responded. "Where are you going?"

"I'm meeting Kurt and Blaine and some of their friends from Dalton at Breadstix," she said. "I should be home around ten-ish."

"Sounds good, I'll be over in a few."

"Okay, thanks Noah."

"No problem, Rach. Later." With that, he hung up. Rachel picked up Caleb, who'd finished his bottle, and a towel and burped him over her shoulder. After he was done, he changed him into his pajamas and brought him to sit in his playpen in her room. She grabbed her makeup bag and sat in front of her mirror.

Right when she was finished and began to braid her hair, she looked in the mirror and saw Puck standing in the doorway. She let out a surprised yelp and turned around. He chuckled and moved into the room, shutting the door behind him and moving to the playpen to pick up Caleb.

"God, you scared me!" she scolded.

"Sorry," he apologized, a smirk still playing on his lips. "Hey CJ, what's happening?" He tickled Caleb's belly, causing the little boy to laugh. Rachel smiled. "You look nice," he commented, looking her over.

"Thanks," she replied, smiling. "Um, so, he's already had his bottle and been burped and he's already in his pajamas, so that's taken care of. He should go to bed within the hour, so you can play with him until then. He sleeps with his stuffed panda and likes to be sung to when he's lying down. I usually sing '_Blackbird_' by the Beatles, '_Smile_' by Charlie Chaplin, or '_Songbird_' by Fleetwood Mac, but you can sing whatever lullaby type song you can think of. Something that will calm him down and make him fall asleep."

"Okay, I can do that," he nodded.

"Oh, and he should have a bottle filled with water in his crib with him," Rachel continued. "If he cries, give him a few minutes before you go check on him. Usually he's just reminding you he's still there. Unless he's really badly crying for a long time, just let him calm himself down. Check his diaper before he goes to bed. His changing table is in his room with everything there. If you have any questions or anything bad happens, call me. I'll have my phone on and I'm driving myself so I can leave whenever."

"All right, I'll do that," Puck promised. "Now go have fun." He smiled and kissed her forehead, pushing her towards the door. She giggled and left, getting into her car and driving to the restaurant Kurt had texted the address of.

"Guess it's just you and me big man," Puck stated as he held the baby over his head. "What do you want to do first?" Caleb opened his mouth and promptly threw up all over Puck. "Ah! Gross!" he shouted, spitting onto the floor and causing Caleb to cry. "Hey, now, it's okay. Shh, it'll be fine." He went into the bathroom and grabbed a face cloth, wetting it with warm water and wiping Caleb's face. He proceeded to clean his own off and then went to work on calming the crying baby is his arms.

After an hour of trying every trick in the book, Caleb finally began to calm down and show signs of exhaustion. Puck sighed, relieved, and brought the boy to his room. He laid him in his crib and turned on the baby monitor, taking its twin with him as he went to the kitchen to fill one of the many baby bottles around with water. He quickly returned upstairs to find Caleb standing in his crib, looking up at him. He smiled and picked him back up. After handing Caleb his bottle and laying him back down, Puck grabbed his guitar out of his case and started to strum.

_Smile though your heart is aching  
>Smile even though it's breaking<br>When there are clouds in the sky  
>You'll get by<br>If you Smile through your pain and sorrow  
>Smile and maybe tomorrow<br>You'll see the sun come shining through  
>For you<em>

_Light up your face with gladness_  
><em>Hide every trace of sadness<em>  
><em>Although a tear may be ever so near<em>  
><em>That's the time you must keep on trying<em>  
><em>Smile- What's the use of crying<em>  
><em>You'll find that life is still worthwhile<em>  
><em>If you just smile.<em>

_That's the time you must keep on trying,_  
><em>Smile- What's the use of crying<em>  
><em>You'll find that life is still worthwhile<em>  
><em>If you just smile.<em>

_Smile though your heart is aching_  
><em>Smile Even though it's breaking<em>  
><em>When there are clouds in the sky- You'll get by<em>

_That's the time you must keep on trying_  
><em>Smile- What's the use of crying<em>  
><em>You'll find that life is still worthwhile<em>  
><em>If you just<em>  
><em>You'll find that life is still worthwhile<em>  
><em>If you just smile.<em>

By the time Puck had finished the song, Caleb was breathing slowly and snoring softly. Puck smiled and leaned over the crib to kiss his son's forehead and left the room. After putting his guitar away, he looked down at his shirt and saw that it was still covered in baby barf. Cringing, he took it off and put it in his backpack, pulling out one of his school books. He made his way to Rachel's room-the book and baby monitor in hand-and plopped onto her bed. After reading about Ho Chi Minh for twenty minutes, Puck's eyes became heavy and he fell asleep.

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><p><strong><em>Song belongs to Charlie Chaplin. I hope you guys liked it. <span>If I get thirty reviews I will sit down and write a chapter.<span> It might be a little delayed though because of school! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I love you all!_**


	7. Home Is Where The Heart Is

**_Thanks for all the reviews. I'm trying to get ahead of my writing so I can just post once a week so I won't be requesting reviews anymore. I have school now so I can't just sit down and write when I get the right amount of reviews. From now on, I'll post every Saturday (or weekend if my Saturdays are busy :P). Hope this is good for you all. Enjoy!_**

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><p><strong><strong>When Rachel arrived at the restaurant, she walked through the door and immediately saw Kurt and Blaine surrounded by several boys. She smiled and walked over to the table, her smiling augmenting when Kurt and Blaine smiled at her.

"Rachel, there you are," Blaine said, motioning for her to take the seat across from him. "This is Wes, David, Jeff, Nick, and Thad. Guys, this is our friend Rachel."

She smiled again when she heard numerous greetings around her. "You're the new girl Blaine and Kurt have been talking about?"

"Yeah," she affirmed. "Well, I'm not really new. I was at McKinley freshman year, but moved away for sophomore and junior years. I just moved back."

"Where'd you go?" Jeff asked innocently.

"I stayed with my aunt," she responded, hoping the questioning end there.

"Why'd you leave?" Nick asked curiously.

Rachel looked over at Kurt. He leaned forward and whispered, "You can tell them if you want. They're good guys and won't hold it against you." Rachel nodded and faced the guys' quizzical expressions.

"Um, at a party after freshman year, I got drunk and had unprotected sex. I ended up getting pregnant and that's why I left." Her head stayed down and she was wringing her hands.

"You raised a child on your own for two years?" Wes questioned. Rachel nodded, her head still down.

"That's very courageous," David stated. Rachel looked up at him, and noticed all the other guys held

"My mom was sixteen when she had my older brother," Nick commented. "The father didn't want anything to do with her after that so she had to raise him alone. It takes a very strong woman to be able to do that." Rachel smiled when the rest of the guys nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," she replied. "Caleb's been my whole life since he was born. It feels weird not being with him right now."

"Do you have any pictures of him?" Jeff wondered. She nodded and took out her phone, going through her many pictures until she found one where she was kissing his cheek. The guys all gathered around the phone and glanced at it. "He's really cute. His hair is crazy."

"He gets that from his dad," she said without a second thought. The minute she said it she kind of regretted it. They looked at her again with curious looks. "I don't know if any of you know him, but Caleb's father is Noah Puckerman."

"Puck?" Wes repeated. "The guy with the Mohawk?"

"Yeah," Rachel confirmed. "I didn't tell him about Caleb until this year. We've worked everything out and now he's very much in his son's life."

"Are you guys, like, together now?" Nick inquired.

"No," Rachel laughed. "He still screws around like before, but he seems to have matured a bit. He's very serious when it comes to Caleb and we've sort of created this unique relationship. We're just friends who happen to be raising a child together." She laughed a little more. "It's kind of messed up, but it works for us."

"So you guys are still allowed to see other people?" Nick continued.

"Well, he is," she clarified. "I don't think there are many guys that would want to date a girl that had a baby with another guy." She shook her head slightly and shrugged.

"That's not true," Nick said, his eyes locking with hers. He and Rachel didn't notice the smirks and nudges from their friends.

Rachel blushed under his stare. "Oh really?" she retorted almost flirtatiously. Nick nodded and grabbed her phone, pushing a few buttons before handing it back.

"Now you have my number," he stated. "Whenever you want a night off let me know. I'll make it worth your time." He smiled at her, causing her blush to deepen.

Luckily for Rachel, the waitress decided to arrive then, and the conversation shifted. The night continued wonderfully, with light conversation and a lot of laughter. Nick flirted with her incessantly all night, and all Rachel could do was laugh and blush. When dinner finally ended, Rachel bid all of the boys a good night and started to walk out to her car. She was halfway across the parking lot when she heard her name being called. She turned around and saw Nick running towards her.

"Nick, what-" she started but was silenced by a sweet kiss. When they pulled away, she couldn't hide the smile that brushed her lips.

"Sorry," he muttered, his eyes finding the ground. "Jeff would mock me for months if I didn't do that."

Rachel giggled. "It's all right," she replied, her finger lifting his chin so he was looking at her. She leaned up to press her lips against his again. "Thanks."

"Anytime," he said with a smile. "Call me?"

"Of course," she promised. "Bye." She turned and walked the rest of the distance to her car, turning around after a few yards to find him still rooted on that spot with a smile on his face and his eyes on her retreating form. She climbed into her car and drove away, waving as she passed Nick.

Her head was still buzzing when she got home. Her dads were still out, and probably wouldn't be home until the early hours of the evening. Rachel walked upstairs, quickly checked on Caleb, and then walked into her room. A soft smile grew on her face when she saw a shirtless Puck asleep with a school book on his chest and the baby monitor by his head. She was a little in awe of the contours of his muscled torso, but soon shook it off. Creeping close to the bed, she leaned over and shook Puck slightly.

"Noah," she said softly. "Noah, wake up." In a flash, Rachel found herself in Puck's strong arms, said boy nuzzling his face into her hair. "Noah!" she half-shouted, half-gasped. Finally the boy awoke and came to realize the situation.

His arms dropped from Rachel's waist and the girl sat up and away from him. "Jeez, sorry Rach." He blushed. "I'm kind of a cuddler," he whispered.

She giggled. "It's okay," she nodded. "Um, why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"Oh, Caleb threw up on me," he stated. "I guess he doesn't like being held horizontally over people's heads." Rachel erupted in laughter, Puck soon joining her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I guess I should have told you that."

"It's all right," he shrugged. "Learn new things every day." They paused and just looked at each other. "So how was dinner?" This time, Rachel was the one to blush. Puck chuckled. "That good huh? Care to share?"

"The five boys I met tonight from Dalton were absolute gentlemen. I told them about Caleb and they were very accepting. One boy, Nick Duval, seemed to be quite interested in me, as I was him. He gave me his cell phone number and ended up surprising me with a kiss at the end of the evening in the parking lot."

"Classy," he said sarcastically. Something about picturing Rachel with another guy made his stomach clench in a way he did not like. Rachel glared at him.

"If I knew you were going to criticize my evening, I wouldn't have told you," she snapped. "Now I'm not going to let your cynicism ruin my wonderful night. Good night, Noah." She walked over to the door and held it open.

Puck sighed and walked over, grabbing his bag, shirt, and guitar case along the way. Before he left, he looked back up at Rachel. "Are you going to see this guy again?"

Rachel considered his question, her teeth nibbling on her bottom lip, before replying. "Yes, I believe I will."

He nodded. "Be sure to tell him that if he hurts my baby mama, his ass is grass."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Language Noah," she scolded. He looked at her pointedly, expecting a response to his warning. "Very well, I will alert Nick of your crude threat."

Puck nodded and laid a soft kiss on Rachel's forehead. "Night Rachel," he bid as he made his way down the stairs and out the door. As she watched him leave, Rachel couldn't help notice the way her forehead seemed to buzz in a way she hadn't felt on her lips when Nick's had touched them. She shook this off and prepared for bed, smiling as she recalled Puck's overly protective warning. _That boy is crazy_, she concluded to herself. She curled up in bed and smiled again when she smelt the Mohawked teen's familiar scent. She'd deny that this smell was what lulled her to sleep.

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><p><strong><em>I really hope that just because I don't have a required amount of reviews doesn't mean you guys will stop reviewing. Thanks for reading and reviewing :) I love you all!<em>**


	8. It's Complicated

**_As promised, here's the next chapter. I'm working on a rather long one-shot that I'm trying to finish today to publish tonight, but we'll see how far I get. I got a lot of negative feedback about the whole Nick-Rachel thing, so I thought I should explain that. I think Rachel would react so well to Nick because she's not used to any attention from a guy, because of Caleb. Also, it's kind of necessary for there to be something that gets Puck to realize his feelings, right? Maybe I'm just crazy. Anyways, here you go haha. Enjoy!_**

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><p>"She went on a date?" Finn asked from beside him, a PlayStation controller in his hand and his eyes on the television screen. He and Puck had Call of Duty tournaments every Saturday in Puck's room. The only time this tradition is broken is if Rachel badly needs Puck to watch Caleb.<p>

"It wasn't a date," Puck shook his head, his eyes remaining on the screen. "She just went out with Blaine and Kurt and some of their Dalton friends."

"But she ended up kissing some random dude?" he pointed out, his eyebrows shooting up as he glanced at his friend.

"He wasn't some random dude. He's one of Kurt's friends. Like I fucking care anyways," he scoffed.

Finn paused the game and turned to look at Puck. "Seriously dude? I've known you since pre-K. You really think you can pull that with me?"

Puck groaned, throwing the controller down and falling back onto his bed. "It's not like I can do shit about it."

"Why not?" the quarterback inquired.

"I have no claim over her. We laid down rules when we started this whole fucked up thing," he explained. "It would be, fuck, what's the word?" He wracked his brain before snapping his fingers and continuing. "Hypocritical. It would be hypocritical of me to tell her she can't see this guy, 'specially when I'm still hooking up with Cheerios."

"Well, why don't you stop hooking up with Cheerios and try to make it work with Rachel?" Finn suggested like it was the most obvious thought in the world. "You like her don't you?"

"Fuck, I don't know," Puck murmured. "It's complicated."

"What's complicated about it?" he said, growing slightly frustrated. "If I remember correctly, you were pretty into her at that party."

"That was two years ago and look how that turned out," Puck muttered. "Sure, she was hot back then-"

"She's still pretty smokin' now," Finn spoke under his breath. Puck shot him a glare and he blushed and ducked his head.

"Anyways," Puck continued through gritted teeth. "She's more than just hot though. Like she's beautiful and has a great smile and her laugh is fucking adorable and she's great with Caleb and, fuck, I don't know. She's just too good."

"What does that even mean?" Finn groaned.

"It means she's better than me," Puck stated bluntly. "I fucked up and got her pregnant and I don't want to ruin anything else for her."

Finn sat up straighter and looked at his friend. "So that's it? What're you going to do if things start getting serious with this guy?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "Our only connection is Caleb. We're just friends, or whatever the hell we are, who happen to be raising a kid together. I'm not going to stop her from being happy, especially when I'm screwing around too. That's not fair to her."

"Whatever dude," Finn shook his head and pressed the play button on the controller.

Puck continued playing, but his head was elsewhere, specifically on a petite brunette with chocolate eyes and a smile that made his stomach do flips. His heart clenched slightly when he pictured that girl in the arms of another guy, but he quickly shook it off and shot a virtual Nazi in the head.

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><p>"So are you going to call him?" Santana asked from on top of Rachel's bed. She was holding Caleb in her lab and making faces, causing the small boy to laugh.<p>

Rachel blushed as she cleaned around the room. "Probably," she said with a shrug. "I don't know."

"Oh come on Berry," the Latina groaned from the bed. "What the hello-there is holding you back?" Rachel giggled at the code words she and Santana had created for swears so Caleb wouldn't pick up any bad habits.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that I haven't had any type of interaction with a guy since Noah?" she retorted. "I'd rather not get pregnant again, thank you very much."

"You don't have to fudge him on the first date B," Santana pointed out while rolling her eyes. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well he could realize I'm entirely too high maintenance for him. He could see that my having a child is not what he wanted to deal with at such a young age. He could-"

"That was a hypothetical question, Rach," she stated monotone.

"Oh," Rachel blushed.

"You never told me how Puckerman responded when you got home all hot and bothered."

"I was not _hot and bothered_, as you so crassly put it," Rachel scolded. "And for your information, Noah was very supportive. He merely gave me a warning to pass on to Nick that if I become emotionally scarred through my relationship with Nick, Noah will personally cause him bodily harm as a repercussion. While I abhor violence of all kinds, the protective gesture was quite kind."

"Dang B, cool it on the big words," Santana whined. "So, Puck was cool with you getting your mack on and only told you to warn Warbler-boy that if he hurts you, he'll kick his ascot?" Rachel nodded, a small smirk playing on her lips at the other code word. "I don't believe that."

"Well it's true!" Rachel insisted.

"Nah, I don't doubt that's how it went down, but I don't believe Puckerman's cool with this at all," Santana clarified. "Look Rach, I've known Puck since we were tots. I know how he operates in more ways than you could imagine." She chuckled when Rachel cringed. "And I know that he's hating the idea of you going out with another dude."

"But he's seeing other girls as well," Rachel mentioned with her head down, hoping the disappointment wasn't so obvious in her voice.

"Do you want him to see other girls?" Santana asked, her eyes searching Rachel's as she looked up to face her.

Rachel hesitated, considering everything that could impact her response. "Not really, no," she finally replied. "But it doesn't matter."

"Like hello-there it doesn't matter!" Santana shouted, frustrated at her friend's cluelessness. Caleb stirred in her arms, so she calmed down and kissed the boy's curly-topped head. "If you wanna get with my man Puck, you needs to tell him."

"I can't do that. We made an agreement when he agreed to be a part of Caleb's life that we would be nothing but friends and that we would be open to see other people. Puck is accustomed to his lifestyle of engaging in fleeting flings with various girls, and I'm not going to stop him just because I might possibly have feelings deeper than friendship."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Fine. Be stupid and just push all this pent up feelings aside. What are you going to do to make sure you don't ruin this stupid friendship?"

"For starters, I am going to call Nick and schedule a date for this Friday night," Rachel stated with a nod. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number, the smile on her face growing when Nick immediately answered and confirmed their plans. She hung up and ignored her friend's glares, picking up her son and leaving the room to put Caleb down for a nap.

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><p><strong><em>I hope you all enjoyed it. Keep an eye out for the new one-shot! Tell me your thoughts. Give me your ideas. Your opinions affect what I write, so tell me what you think. I love you all!<em>**


	9. Mama Knows Best

**_So this is a story I thought up and I plan on dedicating most of my time to once Baby, You're Not Alone is finally over. It's not incredibly long but I hope it's interesting enough that you guys will want to read it. It is definitely AU set when the third season would be, but it does contain some important plot points from seasons one and two. Puck and Quinn never had a baby, Rachel and Finn never had any semblance of a relationship, Matt never disappeared, and Sam and Quinn have been dating since junior year._**

**_DISCLAIMER: All characters (except Caleb) belong to Ryan Murphy and the other phenomenal writers of Glee. I only own the plot and my love for Mark Salling and Darren Criss._**

**_**Note: Legolas' Girl 31 brought to my attention an error, so I'm fixing it. Thanks again for pointing it out :)**_**

**_Enjoy!_**

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><p>"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" Rachel asked. Caleb looked up at Puck just as Rachel was while they stood on the doorstep of his house. "I don't mind waiting to tell her."<p>

"No," Puck shook his head. "We should do it now. The sooner we tell her, the sooner I can stop worrying she'll find out."

"How could she possibly find out Noah?"

"You can't stay away from the temple for much longer," he explained. "Plus, there's no way I'm letting Caleb grow up without embracing his Jewish roots. You would have brought him and, knowing my mom, she would have known right away that he was mine."

Rachel just rolled her eyes and giggled. "I think you overestimate your mother's skills. How in the world would she have known just by looking at him?"

Puck looked at his son then looked into Rachel's eyes. "First of all, you may be the best actress, but you are a horrible liar. Secondly," he took a deep breath, "he has my eyes. He looks a lot like me when I was a baby. I found some old baby pictures and it's kinda freaky how much he looks like me."

She nodded at him, a smirk playing her lips, but it soon slipped as his hand wrapped around the doorknob and twisted it open. The pair walked in, Caleb looking around from Rachel's arms, and made their way into the kitchen. Sarah Puckerman was standing in front of the stove, her hand stirring a spoon in a steamy pot while her other hand skimmed over the pages of a worn-out cookbook. She squinted in concentration, her lips puckering until she saw what she was looking for and continued to cook.

"Ma," Puck called out, his heart beating rapidly. "We need to talk to you."

"We? Who's we?" Sarah asked as she turned around, her eyes landing on Rachel and Caleb. "Well hello Rachel," she beamed. "It's great to see you again. It's been so long." She smiled fondly at Rachel before turning her attention back to the small boy gripping the brunette's chocolate locks. "Who's this little guy?"

"That's what we need to talk to you about ma," Puck murmured, his eyes on the floor and his hands deepening in his pockets.

"All right," she nodded. She grabbed a nearby rag and wiped her hands, turning the stove down and removing her apron. "What's going on?" she asked as she sat down at the island.

"Mrs. Puckerman-"

"Please, call me Sarah," she insisted.

Rachel smiled. "Sarah, Caleb is… He is…"

"He's Rachel's son," Puck spoke for her, her face immediately flushing.

"Oh dear, Rachel how on earth did that happen? I never pegged you as the irresponsible kind," Sarah said, disappointed.

"Um, well actually-"

"I'm the father," Puck admitted, causing his mother's eyes to widen rapidly. "Rachel and I both got drunk at a party and had sex without protection. Rachel went and lived with her aunt to have Caleb and raise him until her fathers offered for her to come home. I found out about everything a week after Rachel came back about Caleb and have been involved ever since. Caleb's my son and I'm going to be the best father I can be to him. I just didn't want to keep him a secret from you anymore."

Sarah sat in shock. Her eyes darted between Rachel and Puck, secretly hoping one of them would start laughing and admit to their practical joke. When they didn't she took a deep breath, forced her mind to absorb this information, and looked up at her son.

"I'm rather disappointed in the both of you," she spoke lightly, Rachel and Puck's heads facing the floor. "But I am also incredibly proud." Their eyes shot back up to the woman. "Rachel, it amazes me that you've managed to raise your son for so long on your own. It truly shows your strong and beautiful character. Noah, I'm proud of you for owning up to your mistake and being there not only for Caleb, but for Rachel." Puck turned and smiled softly at Rachel. "She's been through so much and it's refreshing to see that you want to ease some of her trouble occasionally." Rachel returned the smile to Puck before the pair turned back to Sarah. "I have to ask, though. What is your relationship now that Noah knows about Caleb?"

"Um, well we're just friends," Rachel quickly clarified. "We're going to keep our relationship simple and uncomplicated. It would just be irresponsible and unfair to Caleb if we ever did try anything more than friendship." Puck gulped dryly, something his mother noticed immediately.

"And you _both_ agreed on this?" They slowly nodded. "All right then." She smiled at the teens in front of her. "May I hold my grandson?" she asked, her hands outstretched to Caleb who looked at her curiously. Rachel smiled and gently handed her son over to Sarah. Caleb looked up at the older woman curiously before smiling and grabbing onto her shirt. The teens looked on happily, laughing lightly when Caleb blew a raspberry in Sarah's cheek. Puck had taught him how to do that and he made a habit of doing it often. Sarah smiled down at her grandson, kissed his forehead, and handed him back to Rachel. "He's adorable."

"Thank you," Rachel and Puck replied in unison. They blushed and smiled at each other.

"Rachel, would you and Caleb like to stay for dinner? We're having matzo ball soup and we have extra." She turned to Puck. "Miriam is having dinner at Jenny's house." Puck nodded and turned to await Rachel's response.

"Sure, we'd love to stay," Rachel smiled. "I just need to call my fathers and let them know we won't be home for dinner." She nodded her head and walked with Caleb into the living room.

Sarah stood and walked back over to the stove, Puck walking over with her and leaning against the counter. "So you're really okay with this relationship you're having with Rachel?"

Puck sighed. "Was I really that obvious?" he groaned, eliciting a sympathetic laugh from his mother.

"Noah, I've seen how you've acted with numerous girls. With Santana, you were flirtatious but slightly crude. With Quinn, you were protective, but you never really treated her lovingly. With Lauren, you were in awe of her strength, but you changed yourself too much to please her. Just through this short time I've seen a whole new side of you. You admitted a very difficult confession, you spoke when she was too shy to do so, and you smiled and looked at her in a way that could only be described as pure love."

"Ma.."

"No," she shook her head. "You may not realize it yet, but you are in love with that girl Noah. And I can tell she's trying to not feel the same way." Puck looked at her quizzically. "She's been hurt. She's had to go through such difficult times at a young age and has surely been abandoned by people she's trusted. She's afraid that if she gives her heart to you, she'll lose it forever."

"I don't want to hurt her ma," Puck admitted. "I want to be in her life just as much as Caleb's."

"Then you need to prove you won't hurt her. Show her how much you care and maybe she'll give in."

"She's going out with some other guy on Friday," Puck mumbled.

Sarah shrugged. "Then wait until she's ready. It's going to take patience and understanding if you want to actually have a family with that girl."

Puck nodded and conversation ended when Rachel returned to the room. Sarah smiled when the two teens started talking about glee and school. _There's hope for them yet_, she thought. _Hopefully they'll get it right_.

"Will you calm the fudge down already?" Santana whined, Caleb in her arms tugging slightly at her hair. "If you didn't want to go out with Nick, why did you call him?"

"I do want to go out with him…" _I think_, she mentally finished.

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><p><strong><em>I hope you guys liked it. <span>If I get ten reviews, I will sit down and write you guys a chapter!<span> Also, be sure to go read my other stories! I love you all!_**


	10. Green Is A Good Color On You

**_I'm sorry for this episode's tardiness. I hope you guys don't hate me. Not much else to say other than I love you all and I hope you like this :) Enjoy!_**

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><p>"Will you calm the fudge down already?" Santana whined, Caleb in her arms tugging slightly at her hair. "If you didn't want to go out with Nick, why did you call him?"<p>

"I do want to go out with him…" _I think_, she mentally finished. "I'm just nervous. I haven't really ever been out on a date before."

Santana sighed. "Rachel, it's going to be fine. Now go finish getting dressed. Puck should be here soon and I want to see you before I go to pick up Britt."

Rachel walked into her closet and continued to talk as she changed. "Did I mention how proud of you I am? After hearing everything you went through, I am glad you are finally happy."

"Yeah, yeah, don't go mushy on me now, Berry," she replied, fighting the smile that was threatening to form on her lips. "But thanks. I just hope I don't screw this up."

"You won't," Rachel promised. "I know how much you care about Brittany. You would never hurt her." She finally walked out of her closet and turned in a circle. "Well? What do you think?"

Santana looked up at her friend and smiled. Rachel was wearing a simple olive baby-doll dress. The sweetheart neckline complemented her bust and descended until it cinched in at her waist. The dress billowed out softly before resting just above her knees. Her legs looked incredibly tan against the color of the fabric, before disappearing into a pair of mid-calf black high-heeled boots. Her hair was in soft waves, her lips slightly red and glossy and her eyes a natural smoky look. Rachel walked closer and picked up her son.

"What do you think Caleb? Does Mommy look pretty?" She smiled when Caleb clapped his hands and blew a raspberry in her cheek.

"Dammmnnnn." Rachel turned to see Puck looking her over. "Looking good Rach."

She blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Noah."

He walked closer and took Caleb, lifting his shirt and blowing a raspberry onto his belly. "When's prep boy supposed to show up?"

"_Nick_ should be here any minute," she clarified with a small glare when Puck chuckled. She looked over at the clock. "In fact, he should-" she was interrupted by the doorbell. "That must be him now." She smiled and grabbed her purse before walking down the stairs, Santana and Puck following with Caleb in his arms. Rachel quickly fixed her hair and dress, looking back at Santana for approval before opening the door. Nick stood on her doorstep in a pair of dark wash jeans, the front of his light blue button-down shirt tucked in but the rest lying loose around him. The top few buttons were unbuttoned, showing off a sliver of toned chest and undershirt. His arms looked amazing in the black hoodie he wore to complete the ensemble. Rachel unconsciously licked her lips at the sight of him before blushing when she realized he was checking her out just as blatantly. She heard Puck cough behind her, jarring her back into the present. "Oh, Nick, come in."

Nick kissed her cheek as he stepped inside and looked around. His eyes finally met the two other teens in the room. "Oh, where are my manners." He stretched his hand out to Santana. "Nick Duval."

"Santana Lopez," she replied with a polite smile. Two quick beeps from a car outside made her look past and through the door. "Oh, that's my date. Catch you losers later." She walked over and kissed Caleb's forehead, grabbed her coat, kissed Rachel's cheek, then strutted out the door to Brittany's car.

Rachel shook her head at her friend before looking up at Puck who was practically glaring at Nick. Nick looked up and finally locked eyes with Puck. He walked over and extended his hand. "You must be Puck," he stated. "Rachel's told me a lot about you. It's nice to meet you."

_I wish I could say the same,_ Puck thought but opted not to say. He plastered on a fake smile and shook Nick's hand firmly. "Ditto." Rachel stood by awkwardly as the two boys stared angrily at each other.

"Well," she broke the awkward silence. "Shall we go?" Nick looked over and smiled.

"Yeah, let's go."

Rachel walked over and grabbed her coat and then went over to Puck and Caleb. "I have my phone so call for any emergencies."

"I know the drill," Puck snapped, immediately regretting it when Rachel winced. He sighed and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Have fun." Rachel half-smiled and kissed Caleb's forehead before leaving with Nick.

"So where are we going?" Rachel asked as Nick held the passenger door for her.

"Uh uh, not telling," he smirked. "It's a surprise."

"Not even a little hint?" she pouted.

Nick chuckled. "Nope, you'll just have to wait and see." He shut her door, walked around and sat in the driver's seat, smiling over at her before pulling away. They drove for a while, definitely outside Lima and past some nearby towns before they pulled up to a seemingly deserted building.

"Nick, where are we?" Rachel wondered worriedly.

"Come on," he insisted with a chuckle. He got out and went around, opening her door and taking her hand. They walked into the building and Rachel's breath escaped her. It was a small restaurant empty except for a waiter and chefs seen through the kitchen door. The room was lit solely by strewn candles and twinkly lights.

"Good evening Mr. Duval," the waiter greeted. "Just this way." He led the couple over to a table in the middle of the room. Nick pulled out the chair for Rachel who smiled and sat down. On the table were two menus and two champagne flutes filled with sparkling cider with raspberries floating amongst the bubbles. "I'll be back to get your order."

Nick smiled over at Rachel who looked around absolutely dumbfounded. "How did you manage to pull all this off?"

"My uncle owns the restaurant," he explained. "I've been picking his son up from school every day for the past month so he kind of owed me."

Rachel smiled. "It's all so beautiful," she looked around at the room again.

"Not as beautiful as you," he replied, his eyes looked on her. Rachel blushed and looked down. She picked up the menu and looked through it, her smile growing when she noticed the wide variety of vegan options on the menu. "Kurt told me you were vegan, so I asked the chef to make a special menu." Rachel looked up and absolutely beamed at him.

"Thank you," she said. "No one's ever been that tentative of my nutritional preferences before." She looked at the menu before finally choosing a vegan eggplant parmesan.

The waiter took their orders, leaving vegan breadsticks and some herbs and olive oil. Their conversation was smooth and pleasant, Nick asking questions about Caleb, her friends, and school, and Rachel questioning him about Dalton, his family, and his other interests. He made her laugh for most of the night, telling stories about the shenanigans he and his best friend Jeff get into at Dalton. They were halfway through their meal when Rachel's phone started to go off.

She groaned and apologized, rummaging through her purse for the electronic. When she pulled it up, her face paled slightly at Puck's name flashing. _He wouldn't be calling unless something was really wrong_, she thought to herself. "I'm sorry," she repeated to Nick. "It's Noah and-"

"Answer it," he encouraged. "It's fine." He smiled at her.

Rachel nodded and pressed the green button. "Noah?"

"Rachel, I'm sorry for ruining your date or whatever, but something's wrong," Puck rushed out anxiously.

"What do you mean?" she asked panic-stricken. Nick looked at her concerned, reaching over and taking her hand.

"I don't know. He's got a really high fever and keeps crying and I don't know what's wrong," he replied. "I don't know what to do."

"Take him to the emergency room," Rachel started ordering as she gathered her stuff. "Ask for Dr. Fitzgerald and I'll meet you there."

"Okay, I'll see you there," Puck answered before hanging up.

"Nick, I'm so sorry," she spoke regretfully. "Something's wrong with Caleb and Noah doesn't know what to do and- and-" Tears start to pool in her eyes as Nick rose and put his arm around her, leading her to his car.

"It's alright Rachel," he promised. "Caleb comes first, come on." He settled her into the car, walked to the driver's side, slid in and drove away. Rachel's hand found his and she held on for dear life. She pushed away the desire for his hands to be just a little bigger and calloused.

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><p><em><strong>What do you guys think? Please review! What do you want to see? This story's kind of open so give me your suggestions :) I love you all!<strong>_


	11. An Ear Infection and A Heartache

_**Finally, here's the new chapter. It took me a bit to figure out the ending, because I had to paths I could have done, but I like how it ended up. You've all been waiting for some Puckleberry, and finally, here it is. It's still going to take some time before they officially get together, but this is a step. Enjoy!**_

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><p>Rachel had just left for her date and Puck was still standing in the living room. Caleb was looking up at him curiously, his head cocked slightly to the side. After a few more moments of silence, Caleb leaned over and blew a raspberry in Puck's cheek, making both of them laugh.<p>

"Alright buddy, let's go eat some dinner," Puck said with smile, kissing his son's forehead. After a messy meal of cross-cut "not dogs" and peas, which Caleb didn't eat much of, the two boys played with some toy cars and Puck read Caleb some books. An hour or so later, Caleb was sitting in Puck's lap as they watched Toy Story when Caleb began to cry. Puck looked down curiously, pausing the movie and turning the baby to face him.

"CJ, what's wrong?" Puck asked the little boy who only cried harder. He stood up with the baby in his arms and checked his diaper, finding a huge mess. He quickly went to change his diaper, but even afterwards, Caleb continued to cry terribly. Puck pressed his hand against Caleb's forehead and pulled his hand away worriedly. It was incredibly warm. "That's not good."

_Shit, what do I do,_ Puck thought. _Should I give him medicine? He's not showing any other symptoms. Fuck! I don't know what to do!_ He paused, his arms still rocking Caleb in an attempt to soothe him. _Rachel would know what to do._

He swiftly pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the number 3 speed dial. After a few rings, Rachel finally answered.

"Noah?" She sounded worried, making Puck feel guilty.

"Rachel, I'm sorry for ruining your date or whatever, but something's wrong," he rushed out.

"What do you mean?" she asked, panic clear in her voice. Puck felt even worse. He didn't like hearing her sound so worried, but he was scared too.

"I don't know. He's got a really high fever and keeps crying and I don't know what's wrong," he replied. "I don't know what to do."

"Take him to the emergency room," Rachel ordered. "Ask for Dr. Fitzgerald and I'll meet you there."

"Okay, I'll see you there," Puck answered before hanging up. He grabbed Caleb's jacket and eased the little boy into it before grabbing his own along with his keys before going out to his truck. He buckled Caleb into his car seat then rushed around to the driver's seat. He barely buckled before he was pulling out of the driveway and on his way to the hospital.

Puck was pulling up at the hospital in a record-breaking 5 minutes, Caleb practically shrieking from his car seat. He parked and ran around to Caleb's side of the truck, unbuckling him and pulling him into his arms, trying to calm him again as he rushed into the hospital.

He went up to the front desk and immediately demanded the receptionist's attention. "Um, I need to see Dr. Fitzgerald," he stammered.

"Sir, I'm afraid you'll have to wait-"

"Listen, lady," he snapped. "My son has a crazy hot fever and he needs to see his doctor, _now_. If you don't get him, you'll have to deal with my baby mama who's not as patient. So I recommend you get Dr. Fitz." He plastered a forced smile, making the receptionist's wide eyes widen further.

"A-Alright," the receptionist said. "I'll call him. Please just s-sit over there." She motioned to some nearby seats. Puck nodded and took the one closest to the desk.

Only ten minutes later, Rachel was running in, her hand latched to Nick's, making Puck's heart clench in an incredibly unwanted way. He glared for a moment before softening when Rachel released Nick's grip and came over.

"What's going on? Have you seen Dr. Fitzgerald? Have you been waiting long? How is he?" She reached for Caleb and took him into her arms, soothing his hair back and kissing his forehead. "My god, he's really burning up."

"They already called Dr. Fitz," Puck explained. "He should be here soon." He pulled her into his arms, Caleb still crying softly between them, and kissed her forehead. "Everything's going to be fine." He internally smirked when he heard Rachel sigh happily in his arms. A cough from behind them interrupted their moment. They pulled away and looked over at Nick who smiled awkwardly.

Rachel handed Caleb back to Puck and walked over to Nick, making Puck glare at him. The glare soon turned into a smirk when he heard what Rachel said next. "Nick, thank you for this evening and for driving me here, but I think you should go home. You don't have to stay here all night. I can call you when I get home."

Nick looked a little taken aback, but smiled softly. "You sure?" Rachel nodded. "Alright, well be sure to call when you hear any news and when you get home okay?" She nodded again. He shifted his feet and looked down. "I kind of hoped I could have walked you up to your door and-" He was silenced by Rachel's lips on his. His hands gripped her waist gently, her arms latching around his neck. They separated soon after, a smile on both their lips.

"I'll call you later," she promised, squeezing his hand. He nodded, pecking her lips softly before leaving the hospital. She turned back around to see Puck glaring at her. Her eyes scrunched in confusion. "What's your problem?"

"Do you really think it's a good idea to kiss your new boy toy in front of Caleb? I mean, it's the first date," Puck pointed out. "What if Caleb gets attached and you guys break up."

Rachel squinted angrily. "Like you said, it's only our first date. I don't plan on having Nick spend a lot of time with Caleb until we've been together for quite a while. Besides, last time I check," she walked closer and took Caleb from him, "it was none of your business."

"My son is my business," he retorted. "If he gets hurt by this little relationship of yours, I swear-"

"You swear what?" Rachel snapped back. She shook her head. "Don't you even try to make me feel guilty about having a relationship, Noah. You really think I don't know you've been sleeping with half of Lima? Please," she scoffed. "Clearly some things never change."

Puck was about to reply when Dr. Fitzgerald showed up. "Hello Rachel, Caleb. What seems to be the problem?"

"I'm not quite sure," Rachel answered, looking at her son who was sniffling, having calmed down being in her mother's arms. "Noah was with him. He can explain."

Dr. Fitzgerald looked at Puck questioningly. Puck cleared his throat before speaking. "It sort of came out of nowhere. I fed him dinner, but he didn't eat a lot. We played with toys, read books, then we watching a movie when he started crying. He had gone poop, so I changed him, but he kept crying. Then I felt his forehead and he had a really high fever."

The doctor nodded and went to take Caleb from Rachel. "Well let's go run some tests and find out what's going on." He smiled at the two teens and walked towards another part of the hospital. Rachel and Puck looked at each other before following the doctor.

Puck and Rachel stood to the side as Dr. Fitzgerald and some nurses took some tests. After about an hour, he came over to the two teens and flipped over some pages on his clipboard. "Looks like a mild ear infection," he announced. "We gave him some penicillin, but he should be fine within a few days. You did the right thing by bringing him in." Rachel and Puck smiled softly at each other and then at the doctor. "He should be ready to leave in about ten minutes."

Rachel nodded and Dr. Fitzgerald walked away. She looked over at Puck who had his eyes on the small boy lying on the bed with a nurse with him. "I'm sorry," she murmured. Puck looked over at her. "For what I said earlier," she explained. "You have changed, even if your social habits haven't."

"I'm sorry too," he responded. "We made an agreement. I had no right to make you feel bad for going out with Nick." Rachel nodded and the conversation ended there. When Caleb was released, Puck drove them home and walked inside with them. They both kissed Caleb's forehead after laying him down to bed and went into Rachel's room together.

Rachel shut her door and turned around to find Noah lying on her bed. "That was certainly an experience," she sighed, leaning against her door.

He chuckled. "You could say that." He looked up and saw the worried expression still on Rachel's face. "You okay?"

Rachel remained silent but eventually shook her head. Puck stood up and walked over, pulling her into his arms just when the first tears fell. "Oh, Noah, I was so scared."

"I know, I was too," he assured. "But he's okay, everything's okay."

"Thank you for taking care of him," she whispered, her head against his chest. Puck simply nodded and ran his hand over her hair. After a few moments of silence, her soft voice spoke again. "Why do you dislike my relationship with Nick so much?"

Puck sighed. "I don't know."

"Oh, come on, Noah," she complained softly. "Tell me the truth. What makes you hate him so much?" She pulled away when Puck began to laugh. "It's not funny!" she scolded angrily. "How is it fair that you can sleep with whoever the heck you want, but I can't have an actual relationship? I deserve happiness!"

Puck stared down at her. "I know you do! But why can't I be the one to make you happy?"

"What?" Rachel gasped. She tried to pull away further, but Puck held her still.

"You want to know why I hate Nick so much?" he asked. "It's because he has you and I don't. He gets to kiss you and hold you and take you out on dates, while I sit at home like a loser." His arms wrapped tighter around her, his thumbs grazing over her hips. "You drive me crazy, Rach. You're absolutely perfect and all this time together has made me realize that I don't want you to see anyone else. Hell, I don't want to see anyone else." He turned them around and pressed her against the door. "All I want is you."

Rachel met Puck's lips with fervor, her hands grasping his face tightly. He pulled her flush against him and kissed her just as passionately. They moved around the room and eventually ended up on the bed. Puck rolled until she was under him and kissed down her neck, sucking when he found that dip between her neck and shoulder. A soft moan left Rachel's lips, jarring her to reality. She gasped and pushed Puck away.

"We can't do this," she whispered through her fingers.

"Fuck, why not?" Puck groaned, his forehead falling onto the pillow when she squeezed out from under him.

"Noah, we just can't. Think about Caleb," she urged.

"What about Caleb?" he asked. He got off of the bed and stood in front of her. "Don't you think he'd rather his mom and dad be together?"

"I can't risk it," she whispered, her eyes on the floor. "If things don't work out, I can't risk Caleb losing his father."

Puck shook his head and let out a sad breath. "Fine." He ran a hand over his shaved scalp. He grabbed his stuff and started walking towards the door when Rachel's voice stopped him.

"Can you stay?" He turned around and saw her looking at him pleadingly. "I don't want to be alone."

He sighed and dropped his stuff back down on the floor. "Sure," he nodded. "But no funny business," he joked. Rachel smiled softly and nodded. She went into the bathroom, coming out five minutes later in cute, purple star pajama pants and a purple t-shirt. Her jaw dropped when she saw Puck, shirtless and in his boxers, on her bed.

"What are you doing?" she wondered.

"You're in your pjs," he pointed out. "These are mine." Rachel shook her head and walked over, easing into her bed and letting him wrap his arms around her. "Cuddler," he reminded, eliciting a soft giggle from her. They settled into a comfortable silence and Rachel soon felt the haze of sleep drift closer. Right when she was about to fall asleep, she heard Puck speak into her ear. "I won't give up on us Rachel," he revealed. "You and me are supposed to be together, and I'll keep fighting until you realize it." Rachel sighed softly and let the darkness overcome her.

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><p><em><strong>I hope you liked it! <span>Be sure to follow me on tumblr: puckleberryshipper326 . tumblr . com (wo spaces) for updates and occasionally one-shots. It will be a little while until the next chapter, but hopefully I can do some writing during the holiday break. Please review! I love you all!**_


	12. Auntie Miri

_**Kind of a short chapter, but something else to read along with my little one-shot and the final chapter of Baby, You're Not Alone. I'm working on another story, but I won't be publishing it for a while. I plan on getting some chapters done before publishing the first one. In the mean time, keep up with Collide and Dress and Tie. Enjoy!**_

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><p><em><em>Things managed to calm down after Caleb's trip to the hospital. Puck stayed over the next couple of days in the guest room, just to make sure his son was fine. Rachel's fathers were a little hesitant, but with the circumstances, they agreed. He would drive Caleb to day care each day, then to school with Rachel in the passenger seat. People began to ask questions, especially since many had heard of Rachel's relationship with Nick. Rachel was at her locker, getting her books out, when Puck walked up to her.

"Are you going out with Nick again?" he asked, his eyes looking at everything but her.

"Um, I don't know," she replied honestly. "I haven't talked to him since our date."

"You haven't?"

Rachel shrugged. "I've been busy. Haven't had a lot of time."

"But you want to?"

"I guess," she muttered, rummaging through her locker again. "Why the sudden interest, Noah? I thought you detested Nick?"

"Oh, I do," he admitted. "Just curious I guess." Rachel rolled her eyes. "Do you have plans tonight?"

Rachel thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "No, why?"

"I kind of wanted to introduce Caleb to his aunt," he said bluntly. Rachel looked up at him and shushed him, looking around. "What?" His eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"People don't know remember?" she pointed out.

"Oh, right."

She shook her head before remembering his question. "Sure, we can come by tonight. Should I bring anything for dinner?"

"Nah, Ma's working late, so I'm making pasta." Rachel looked up at him, a small smirk on her lips. "Oh shut up, you know I can cook." She giggled and nodded. "So, I'll see you at 6?"

"Sure," she nodded again. Puck smiled and kissed her cheek before walking away. Rachel scolded him as he left, causing him to chuckle and her to blush. Neither noticed the bushy-haired dork looking on with his camera and recorder.

Later that night, Rachel drove with Caleb in his car seat to Puck's house. After parking, she walked around, picked Caleb from his seat, and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell. A few moments later, Puck's little sister Miriam (_nicknamed Miri_) opened the door.

"Hi Miri," Rachel greeted with a smile.

"Rachel Berry, it's nice to see you again," she nodded. "Noah said you were coming. Come on in." Rachel nodded and walked in, unzipping Caleb's jacket and her own and placing them on the coat hook. "Who's the munchkin?"

Just then, Puck walked in from the kitchen. He looked over at Rachel, who was stalling after hearing Miri's question. "Um, dinner's almost ready." Rachel quickly took Caleb over to Puck.

"Do you want me to tell her or do you?" she whispered as she walked by.

"I will," Puck whispered back.

"How have you been Miri?" Rachel asked kindly. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Alright I guess," she replied, shrugging one shoulder. "Can't really complain."

"That's lovely," Rachel said with a smile. An awkward silence settled, excluding Caleb's soft baby noises, until Puck came out with a large plate of spaghetti and tomato sauce in one hand and some garlic bread in the other. He quickly went back into the kitchen to get the plate made for Caleb.

"Um, Noah, is that garlic bread-"

"It's vegan," Puck replied with a smile as he came back out. "Caleb's though, not so much." Rachel shook her head, kissing Caleb's cheek as he clapped seeing his plate of cut up chicken and some farfalle pasta with butter. "Sorry, don't got a lot of vegan stuff here. I had to go out to some store next town over to get the garlic bread."

"Well thank you Noah, that's very kind of you," she smiled.

Miriam looked between Puck and Rachel as they shared a longing glance. "Okay, are you two screwing around or something?"

Rachel gasped as Puck shouted, "Miriam!"

"What? You guys are giving each other total goo-goo eyes and you made her vegan garlic bread! You never did anything like that for any of your other girlfriends!"

"Rachel's not my girlfriend, okay?" Puck mumbled.

"Oh really?" Miriam asked in disbelief. "Then why are you acting like this?"

"Because she's the mother of my child," Puck stated, keeping her eyes on Rachel. Rachel smiled softly, ignoring Miriam's gaping expression.

"What?" she shrieked, causing Caleb to hiccup. "You- and she- but you never- I mean. Holy crap. How the heck did this happen?"

"We got drunk at a party," Puck explained.

"How come I'm just finding out about this?" Miriam asked angrily. "This kid's no baby."

"I only found out this year," Puck stated.

"When I found out I was pregnant, I went to live with my aunt," Rachel said softly. "I was ashamed and scared to tell Noah. I just came back this year and he found out soon after. He's been in Caleb's life ever since."

"I only just told Ma a few weeks ago," Puck pointed out. "The only other people that know are Rachel's dads and the glee club."

Miriam nodded at all of this. She looked between Rachel and Puck, then to Caleb. The small boy looked over at the girl and smiled, forcing a smile out of her as well. "So I'm an aunt?" Puck and Rachel nodded. "Can I hold my n-nephew?" Rachel smiled and lifted Caleb into her arms. Caleb smiled up at Miriam then tugged on her hair, making everyone else laugh. "What's his name?"

"Caleb Josiah," Rachel replied.

"Hi Caleb," she smiled, running her hand in soothing circles along his back. "My name's Miriam. I'm your auntie." Puck and Rachel shared a glance, smiling at his sister.

"All right, let's eat, huh?" Puck pointed out. They all agreed, Rachel putting Caleb back in his seat to eat. Dinner continued uneventfully, the only highlight being Caleb burping halfway through dinner.

After dinner, Miriam took Caleb into the living room to play, wanting to spend some quality time with her nephew. Puck and Rachel sat close together in the kitchen, watching the two kids through the window.

"I'm glad she took it so well," Rachel commented, smiling when she saw Miriam bouncing Caleb in her lap.

"Me too," he replied. His eyes moved from the kids in the living room to the girl in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, his fingers grazing over her shoulder.

Rachel looked over at him curiously. "What are you doing?" she asked, pulling away slightly.

Puck sighed, taking his arm off but grasping her hands in his. He looked deep into her eyes before saying, "I want to be with you Rachel."

"Noah, please-" She shook her head and attempted to pull her hands away.

"No," he interrupted, keeping a hold of her hands and squeezing slightly. "Why can't you just give me a chance? One date. That's all I'm asking for. If it doesn't work, I'll drop it and we can go back to being just friends."

Rachel squinted her eyes at him, considering the proposition. "One date?" she asked.

"One date," he confirmed.

"And then you'll leave this alone?"

"If it doesn't go well, yes," he promised.

"Okay," Rachel finally agreed. "But who'll watch Caleb?"

"I'll call San and ask her," Puck stated. "I'll take care of all the details. You just be ready on Friday at 8."

"All right," she answered. "Friday at 8." She rolled her eyes when Puck smirked. He kissed her cheek before heading into the living room, tickling Miriam and Caleb. Rachel smiled at the sight. As much as she knew she shouldn't, she was really looking forward to Friday.

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><p><em><strong>What did you think? I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I love you all!<strong>_


	13. I Will Protect You

_**Finally a bit of Puckleberry that you've been waiting for (not the date, but this will make the date that much better). Thanks for all of the reviews! Be sure to check out the one-shots I've published over the past month. Enjoy!**_

__Rachel still hadn't texted Nick since their date and she didn't really feel bad about it. To be perfectly honest, the more she hung out with Puck, the less she felt for Nick. She knew she probably should be honest with Nick since he was so kind to her and treated her so well, but she didn't really know how to break it to him. How do you break up with someone when you'd only been on one date?

After she and Puck had dropped Caleb off, they had quite a while until school started. They decided to go get some coffee at a bakery that offered vegan options. With a coffee in their hands, they went to school. Pulling into the parking lot, Rachel noticed some people motioning towards Puck's truck, whispering to their friends nearby. Her eyebrows furrowed with confusion, but she shook her head and got out of the truck. They walked into the school and were met with more whispers and glances. Out of nowhere, Jacob Ben-Israel was in front of them, his microphone in his hand and his dorky camera guy nearby.

"Rachel, how come you left when you had your son?" he asked, shoving the microphone in her face. Rachel's eyes widened, her stomach twisting uncomfortably.

"Wh-What?"

"You have a son," Jacob pointed out. "Why did you leave Lima? Did Puck know you were pregnant? Were you ashamed to spawn the man-whore of McKinley's child?"

"Hey!" Puck snapped, causing Jacob to back up a little. "Leave her the fuck alone and get lost Jew-fro."

"What about you Puck? How does it feel to be a dad? What does this mean for you and Rachel?"

Rachel looked up at him, horror in her eyes. The school finally knew their secret. "Wanna know what it's like being a dad?" he said, his hand reaching down and taking Rachel's hand. "It's fucking hard, but we're doing the best we can to make sure Caleb's happy and safe. That's all we could ask for. As for everything else, that's our business to leave us alone." He pushed Jacob aside and walked away, his hand still latched onto Rachel's.

"Noah," she whispered.

"I know baby," he replied, squeezing her hand. "It'll be okay." He heard her sniffle beside him and sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and leading her to the choir room.

"How did they find out?" she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "Jew-fro probably stalked you like he did when you were here freshman year."

Rachel sniffled again and Puck finally pulled her into the choir room. The rest of the glee club was surprisingly already inside, sympathetic expressions on their faces as they saw the two teens enter.

"Someone please explain how the hell this got out," Puck demanded as he led Rachel to some chairs, pulling her close and letting her softly cry into his chest.

"Jacob posted some pictures of you two last night," Kurt explained. "He also had a recording of you talking to Rachel about Caleb meeting his aunt, and he made assumptions. We're so sorry you guys."

"I almost went all Lima Heights on the curly-haired freak this morning, but I know how much you hate violence," Santana said to Rachel, sitting in the chair next to her and rubbing her back.

"What are we going to do?" Rachel asked, looking up at Puck.

"We'll be fine," he promised her, brushing the hair in her face away and wiping the tears away from her cheeks. The other teens in the room felt like they were watching an entirely too personal interaction, but smiled at the softness Puck portrayed to Rachel. "We've been fine. Their finding out won't change that. We still have our friends and family, and we have each other, okay? If anyone gives you a hard time, tell me. I promised you I'd be there for you, no matter what." Rachel smiled softly, her eyes closing when Puck kissed her forehead. Around them, their friends were sharing smiles and glances, some giving signs that they needed to make a plan. "Let's get to class okay?" Rachel nodded and let him left her up, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. They looked at their friends who had been waiting for them.

"We're here for you guys," Sam stated, the others around them nodding.

"Just like we promised," Quinn smiled from beside Sam. Rachel and Puck smiled at their friends.

"Thanks guys," Rachel said. Santana offered her hand, her other arm already looped through Kurt's. Rachel smiled and took the Latina's hand, the four leading the band of misfits into the hall, each separating when they exited to go to their classes.

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><p>At first, things were simple: people talked about them behind their backs and gave them knowing and judgmental smirks. Puck was avoided like the black plague by all the girls that usually flocked to him, but he didn't really care anymore. All that mattered to him was Rachel at the moment, which explained why he almost got suspended after second period.<p>

Rachel was at her locker while Puck had stayed back to ask his math teacher a question. She was sorting through some of her books when she saw someone approach her out of the corner of her eye. She turned around and saw David Karofsky leering at her, licking his lips.

"C-Can I help you David?" she stuttered, holding her books tightly over her chest.

"Yeah baby, how easy was it for Puckerman to get you into the sack?" he smirked. "Cuz I'm looking for an easy lay and you seem like you'd be a minx in bed."

"Leave me alone," she ordered, turning to her locker with tears welling in her eyes.

"Now come on," he muttered, his hand pushing some of her hair back, making her gulp and stop moving. "If Puckerman fucked you and is still around, you must be good." He chuckled, low and eerily, Rachel's skin crawling at the sound. "Let me get a taste of the Berry."

"Hey!" Rachel and Karofsky both looked to see Puck come storming towards them, his hands in fists at his side. Rachel shook in her spot, tears beginning to well over, as he finally arrived, pushing Karofsky aside. "Leave her the fuck alone."

"What, not willing to share Puck?" Karofsky chuckled. "She must be better than I thought." A fist flew against his cheek and Rachel let out a surprised shriek. Puck wrestled with the tall boy on the ground, punches being exchanged between the two of them.

"Noah, stop it!" she screamed. She looked up and saw Sam and Finn running towards them, Mike and Matt right behind them. "Stop it!"

The four football players pulled their friend off Karofsky, who was near unconscious on the ground. Rachel approached Puck, who was yelling at his friends to let him go. She placed on hand on his cheek and he was immediately soothed. His eyes fluttered closed as her thumb brushed over her cheek, her other hand wrapping around his neck as she pulled him into a hug. Their friends went over to take care of Karofsky before a teacher found out what happened. She allowed Puck to wrap his arm over her shoulder and they quietly exited the school.

As they walked through the parking lot to his truck, Rachel remained quiet, tears still threatening to appear at any moment. When they got to his truck, she quietly retrieved the first aid kit from the back seat and sat him in the bed of his truck. His eyes were trained on her as she tended to his small scrapes and swollen lip. As the first tear rolled down her cheek, he grabbed her wrists and pulled her into his arms. She released the overwhelming need to cry and collapsed into his arms.

"Shh," he soothed, rubbing his hand in circles along her back. "Everything's okay."

"Noah, what am I supposed to do?" she whispered against his now damp shirt. "I can't go through school if people are going to sexually harass me."

He pulled her away and held her face softly but securely in his hands. "I told you I'd protect you, right?" She nodded. "Then don't worry. If I have to have one of the other glee kids stay with you between periods, I will do anything and everything in my power to make sure you feel comfortable. I lost you before I even knew what I had lost. I can't lose you now knowing what you mean to me."

Rachel looked up at him, letting his words sink in. She knew that she meant something to him; she was the mother of his child. But she never realized how much she meant to him. He wanted to protect her, not just for Caleb's sake, but for her own. Before her brain could stop her, she had closed the gap between them and connected their lips in a slow but passionate kiss. Her heart fluttered when she felt him kiss her back. What this would mean for their future, she wasn't sure, but in that moment, she didn't really care.

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><p><em><strong>I hope you liked it! Please review! I love you all!<strong>_


	14. No Getting Around It

_**Hello my lovely readers. I honestly don't know what to say other than I'm a horrible human being who is two weeks away from graduating and has been addicted to RPing. I finally sat myself down and wrote this for you all because I owe you that much. I plan on getting back into the swing of things this summer, especially when I go away to Europe and my friends told me no Tumblr haha. If you are reading Dress and Tie, I apologize. I have kind of lost inspiration for that and just need to get it back, so don't expect an update on that anytime soon. Again, I love you all and hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

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><p>Despite Puck's clear objection, Rachel had ignored the fact that the two teens had kissed in the bed of his truck. When she had pulled away, she had silently gone about bandaging his wounds and constantly brushed away his hands when he tried to place them on her body. He was growing frustrated with her actions, but knew that if he had pushed it, she would have shut it down. Although she had continued staying civil with him (<em>kind of impossible to ignore him when he walks with her between almost every class<em>), he knew there was a whirlwind of thought circling that mind of hers. It didn't really help that more guys had propositioned her and Rachel had been forced to bandage him up another couple times after he'd gotten into some more fights with some of these guys. He didn't mention the kiss or how she was feeling about how people had been treating her, nor did he try to force her to talk about it, especially since it was Friday, their date night.

After school on Friday, Rachel was at her locker, Sam and Quinn keeping her company until Puck showed up. When he did, he poked her side and smiled down at her.

"Ready for tonight?" he asked, taking her books from her.

"What's tonight?" she questioned, taking his books back and putting some in her locker and some in her bag.

Puck's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her. "Um, our date," he replied. When she started sighing, he shook his head and turned her to face him. "No way, Berry. You promised me one date. I've been planning this shit all week. You can't bail like this."

"Noah, please just-"

"Just nothing, Rach. You promised me one date. Come on," he practically begged, looking completely devastated at the thought of her cancelling their date.

As Rachel bit her lip nervously, refusing to look at him, Quinn and Sam were whispering to each other. The cheerleader called over Santana, explaining the situation to her.

"Oh _hell_ no," she groaned, walking over to Rachel and Puck. Puck looked up at her confusedly while Rachel looked absolutely horrified. "You're not fucking bailing on my man, Berry. You and I are going shopping right now and then you are going out with him. I will watch Caleb, you two will have fun, and that's it." With that, she grabbed Rachel's bag and shoved it in Puck's chest. "If you need someone to watch Caleb while you get ready, I'm sure Trouty wouldn't mind." She grabbed Rachel's arm and then turned to look at Quinn. "You coming, Q?" Giggling, Quinn nodded, kissed Sam's cheek, and grabbed Rachel's other arm before the three girls left the school.

Puck looked at Sam, a mixture of fear and amusement on his face. "Your best friend is insane," Sam told him, shaking his head. "Come on," he offered, shutting Rachel's locker and leading a still speechless Puck to the parking lot.

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><p>"Santana, I refuse to try on anymore of these inappropriate outfits you keep on insisting I should wear tonight. I don't even want to go, for goodness sake," Rachel complained, coming out of the dressing room with a plethora of outfits in her hands.<p>

"Oh suck it up Berry," the Latina rolled her eyes. "Do you or do you not want to make this night special?"

"I do not."

"Bullshit."

Rachel and Santana looked over at Quinn with shocked expressions. They'd never heard the blonde swear so bluntly before. "Excuse me?" Rachel asked rather squeakily.

"You heard me, Rachel. That is absolute bullshit." Quinn's expression softened and she walked over to take the clothes out of her friend's hands before she held them in hers. "I know you're scared of what might happen with Puck, but he's not going to hurt you. After everything that happened between you two, I know you care about him. He's Caleb's father, but he's more than that. I know this is scary, having to think about putting your heart on the line again, but you can't just shut down the second you get feelings for someone. Puck loves you. You and Caleb mean everything to him. I've never seen him act the way he does with you towards anyone else. He practically beams when he's just around you. You can't shut down, because if you don't give him a chance, he won't recover. He's been rejected and abandoned by too many people. If you do it, it'll be the last straw for him."

Rachel looked down, as tears welled in her eyes. She knew Quinn was right. Not just about what she was doing, but about how Puck would react and what would happen for the both of them if she didn't at least try. But there was still that inherent fear gnawing at her core.

"I-I just can't get hurt again," she replied softly. She looked up at Quinn and Santana, smiling sadly at their sympathetic looks. "I mean, what if it doesn't work? My heart will be broken and Caleb could lose his dad. I can risk my happiness, but not his."

Santana walked closer and threw her arm over Rachel's shoulder, squeezing her. "Puck would never abandon you and Caleb, even if you two didn't work. You can't know until you try." She smiled softly at Rachel, rubbing her arm.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nodded and looked up at her friends, smiling softly. "Thank you," she whispered then pulled her friends in for a hug. "Now, can you help me find something appropriate and breath-taking for tonight?" Quinn and Santana squealed in excitement, causing Rachel to giggle, and set off to find the perfect outfit.

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><p>About an hour later, the three girls were walking through the food court to get a drink when Rachel bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so so- Nick? Jeff? What are you guys doing here?"<p>

"We came to get some walkie-talkies for a prank we have planned for this weekend," Jeff replied excitedly, eliciting giggles from the girls. "What about you?"

"Getting a hot outfit for Rach," Santana replied, bumping Rachel's hip with her own. "She has a date tonight."

"A date?" Nick asked, causing Rachel to duck her head embarrassedly. "With who?"

"Um, Noah," she stated quietly, stirring confusion in her friends. She looked up to see a rather hurt Nick looking at her. The boy nodded, then shook his head and started walking away. "Nick, wait," she called, rushing after him and leaving their three confused friends behind. She grabbed his arm, but he yanked it out of her grip. "Please, just let me explain."

"What is there to explain, Rachel?" he asked, looking at her with an expression of pure hurt on his face. "You haven't talked to me since our date and then I find out you're going out with Puck?"

"I-I know, I meant to call you, but a lot of stuff has happened. Caleb was sick, the school found out about him, and then things with Noah-"

"You could have still talked to me, Rachel!" he insisted. "I would have understood, and I could have been there for you. I could be good for you, but you didn't even give me that chance."

"I didn't know how to tell you that I couldn't," she muttered, looking down. "I'm sorry Nick, but I-I didn't feel that spark I know I should have. I-I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Nick shook his head then looked down as well. "I didn't feel it either," he admitted. Rachel's head shot up to look at him. "I really wanted to. I wanted to be good for you because I think you're an amazing girl and that you deserve to be treated right and loved. But I don't think I could be that guy."

Rachel smiled softly and then pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you for trying," she said to him, giving him a small squeeze.

"I would love to still be friends with you," Nick stated, looking down at her.

"That sounds wonderful," Rachel replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Nick smiled and they returned to their friends before heading off in their own directions.

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><p><em><strong>Thoughts? Making a little contest for you all to keep you involved. What should Puck do for their date? The person with the best idea will get it placed into the story (with my adaptation of course haha) and be credited as well as receive a short one-shot of their choosing. So review! Thanks for reading! I love you all :)<strong>_


	15. Can You Feel The Love Tonight?

**_So I'm sure most of you probably hate me for taking such a long leave of absence. I had an incredibly busy summer and an even crazier first month of college, but I was on the bus today on my way home and I managed to bang this out. I have a bunch of ideas for one-shots for Puckleberry and even one for Sarley (Sam and Marley), so expect some new stuff coming your way. This chapter is more leading up to the date. It kind of got away with me, but the next chapter will definitely be the date so send more ideas in! The idea I like the best will be chosen and the person who submitted will get a shout out and a little drabble/one-shot as a prize. That's it for me. Enjoy!_**

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><p>To say Rachel was nervous would be the understatement of the century. A lot was lying on this date with Puck, and if anything went wrong or there was awkwardness or no spark or anything negative occurred, it could mean the end of their friendship and a lot of conflict for Caleb. But after her shopping trip with the girls, Rachel was a bit more at ease. Puck loved Caleb and wouldn't abandon him no matter what happened between the two of them. Another part of her was still scared that she would get hurt after all of this. She couldn't deny that she had strong feelings for Puck and if this date showed him he didn't like her as much as he thought he did, she would be crushed. But Quinn and Santana had convinced her to give him a chance, and that was exactly what tonight was all about.<p>

Finding an outfit had taken longer than expected, but Rachel needed something that would stun Puck but would also be perfect for any possible thing they could be doing on their date. The dress she had ended up getting was a beautiful plum color with pale pink lace etched over the bottom hem, waist-line, and top hem. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and fell just above her knee. She looked absolutely stunning in it, and the silver bracelet, simple star necklace with a pink gem at the center, and matching dangly earrings just brought the look together. All of the girls had gotten a manicure and pedicure and Rachel's perfectly polished toes were showcased by the peep-toe purple wedges. Her hair was in her usual soft curls swept over one shoulder and pinned back with a pin that matched her jewelry. Quinn had done her hair while Santana gave her a natural smoky eye and soft pink lips. Once they were both done, they stood back and had Rachel spin for them.

"Damn Berry, you sure you don't play for my team?" Santana asked, leering slightly, making Quinn smack her arm and Rachel to blush.

"I'm afraid not, San, but I'm flattered," Rachel replied politely, giggling at the Latina's frown. "Quinn? How do I look?"

Quinn bit her lip to hide her smile and nodded. "Puck's going to die," she stated simply, eliciting laughter out of the other two girls. "Seriously though, I wouldn't be surprised if he got down on one knee and proposed."

"Either that or came in his pants," Santana put in, causing the other two girls to cringe and set off in laughter again.

Rachel smiled and rushed over, hugging them. "Thank you both for helping me. I deeply appreciate it. I don't know what I did to deserve such amazing friends," she whispered, tearing up slightly.

Santana pulled away and smacked her arm playfully, scolding her, "Don't you dare ruin that make up!"

A little squeal behind them caused them to turn and Rachel smiled down at Caleb in his playpen. "What do you think baby? Does mommy look pretty?" He responded by squealing again and clapping his hands, the three girls laughing in response. Rachel picked him up and kissed his cheek, then giggled as she wiped away the lipstick she had left behind. "Do you think daddy will like it?" she asked. Caleb looked up at her and then gave her a raspberry, making her laugh again. "I'll take that as a yes," she stated, looking up at her friends. "San, you read the packet I gave you right? It had all of the contact information, his dinner and bed time routines, as well as some important things that you needed to know."

"Yes, Berry, I read it all while you were in the shower," she replied, shaking her head. Just then, the doorbell rang, causing Rachel's eyes to widen. "That must be Puckerman. Q and I will get it and let you make your big entrance," she told her, taking Caleb out of Rachel's arms and descending the stairs with Quinn following her.

Leaving Rachel to panic for a few moments, Santana and Quinn went and opened the door, both of them gaping at Puck who looked absolutely delicious. He was wearing a pale blue button-down shirt with only the top button undone, a blue-gray vest over it. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, but neatly, and the overall look was polished and rather refined. He was wearing dark-wash jeans and nice, clean shoes, and his Mohawk looked like it had been trimmed.

"Well are you two bozos just going to stare at me or are you going to let me in?" she asked, rolling his eyes at his friends. They closed their mouths and moved aside so he could walk in, his lips pecking Caleb's forehead, causing the boy to clap his hands. "I take it I look good?" A small smirk took over his lips as he crossed his arms, looking at the two girls.

"You make me question my sexuality," Santana admitted, looking him over again. "I mean damn, Puck. Who knew you could clean up so good."

"You look amazing, Puck," Quinn complimented, smiling softly. "Take care of our girl tonight, okay? Or else you know you'll get a major ass-kicking from the entire club."

Puck laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I know. I guarantee she'll have fun."

Just then, Rachel's door opened and all four heads turned to watch her descend the stairs. Santana and Quinn turned to see Puck's eyes widen, then soften with a look that could only be described as absolute adoration. Rachel smiled down at him, the same expression clear through her eyes. When she finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Puck stepped closer and leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

"You look beautiful," he whispered to her, causing Rachel to blush.

"Thank you. You look incredibly handsome yourself," she replied, smiling up at him. He smiled back and then reached down and linked their hands.

"Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded and they walked over to kiss Caleb and hug their two friends. "See you guys later," he told them, then opened the door for Rachel and brought her out to the car.

Once the door shut, Santana and Quinn squealed, Caleb joining them but not because he knew what was going on. "Did you see the looks on their faces?" Santana asked, doing a little happy dance.

"They looked absolutely smitten with each other!" Quinn exclaimed. "I've never seen Puck that in love before."

"Think they'll realize they're in love with each other?" Santana asked, furrowing her eyebrows slightly.

Quinn merely shrugged. "One can only hope they don't take too long." From her pocket, her phone began to ping. She pulled it out and saw that it was a text from Sam. "I got to go. Sam's outside. You sure you're good here?" she asked, gesturing towards Caleb.

Nodding, Santana pushed her friend towards the door. "I'll be fine. Have fun with Trouty. I'll see you tomorrow for girls' night at the Hudmel house." Quinn nodded and left, leaving Santana alone with Caleb. "What do you think Caleb? You think mommy and daddy will finally admit they love each other?" He looked up at her then squealed and blew a raspberry in her cheek. "Yeah, me too," she laughed, sending positive thoughts to her two friends as she brought the toddler into the kitchen to make him dinner.

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><p><em><strong>Tell me what you thought! And give me more ideas because I liked a few that have been submitted but I'm not completely sold yet. Also, I had to delete my personal tumblr and make a new one. It's the same URL, but I lost all of my followers, so if you were following me on tumblr, be sure to re-add me. URL is .com (without the brackets). Thanks again for sticking with my story. I love you all!<strong>_


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